New date: Stossel covers PLF’s victory over ESA prairie dog regs

Sacramento, CA; November 20, 2014:  A new date has been announced for the installment of “Stossel with John Stossel” on Fox Business Network that will highlight Pacific Legal Foundation’s historic court victory over heavy-handed Endangered Species Act (ESA) regulations for the Utah prairie dog.

The program, entitled “Control Freaks,” is now scheduled for Thursday, December 4, 2014, at 9:00 p.m. EST, 6:00 p.m. PST, on Fox Business Network.  It has been rescheduled in order to make way for coverage of President Obama’s immigration announcement.

PLF won a landmark victory in the Utah prairie dog case.  For the first time, a court invalidated federal ESA regulations for a species because it is found only in one state and has no significant effect on interstate commerce.

Cedar City, in southwest Utah, has been overrun by Utah prairie dogs, a species that numbers over 40,000 but is still listed as “threatened” under the ESA.  PLF represents property owners who have come together as People for the Ethical Treatment of Property Owners (PETPO).  They have sued because ESA regulations for the prairie dog block them from making normal use of their property, maintaining their gardens, parks, and city cemetery, and even protecting the airport’s runways from rodent-caused potholes.

The Stossel episode will feature PLF Staff Attorney Jonathan Wood, along with Cedar City small businessman Bruce Hughes, one of PLF’s clients in the case.  Hughes has been unable to develop a small parcel he bought as a retirement investment, because prairie dogs moved onto the land and federal regulations blocked any use of it.

About Pacific Legal Foundation
Donor-supported Pacific Legal Foundation is the leading legal watchdog organization that litigates for limited government, property rights, and a balanced approach to environmental regulations, in courts across the country.  PLF represents all clients free of charge.