Articles

Have federal wildlife regulators made Sophie’s Choice?

December 02, 2016 | By TONY FRANCOIS

Federal wildlife regulators have a legal responsibility to consider the impact of federal actions on endangered wildlife. That is their legal argument for their program to de-water the farms and communities of California’s San Joaquin Valley, by holding that water for endangered fish in the Sacramento Delta instead. But life comes at you fas ...

Articles

The best way to protect the environment isn't always obvious

October 06, 2016 | By JONATHAN WOOD

Our friend Brian Seasholes of the Reason Foundation has an article on DailyCaller.com on one of the oft overlooked environmental benefits of fracking: preserving open space as habitat for wildlife. He ends the article with a point that applies far beyond fracking and highlights one of the most important shortcomings in most environmental law. Life ...

Articles

New delta smelt lawsuit filed

July 14, 2016 | By DAMIEN SCHIFF

Last week, a coalition of California Central Valley water districts sued the Bureau of Reclamation in the latest installment of the litigation wars over the delta smelt.*  The new lawsuit, filed in federal district court in Fresno, and coming on the heels of the Governor Brown administration’s announcement to release an additional annual 20 ...

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PLF petition challenges illegal Endangered Species Act regulation

March 15, 2016 | By JONATHAN WOOD

Today, PLF submitted a petition with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, challenging a regulation that illegally extends the Endangered Species Act’s burdensome take prohibition to all threatened species. The petition argues that federal bureaucrats have no authority to reverse Congress’ judgment that the stringent take prohibition sh ...

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Are states better than the feds at protecting endangered species?

February 03, 2016 | By JONATHAN WOOD

In honor of Groundhog Day, WildEarth Guardians released its annual report card for federal and state management of prairie dogs. Unsurprisingly, the environmental group isn’t too fond of PLF’s victory on behalf of People for the Ethical Treatment of Property Owners (PETPO). Yet it’s judgment of the relative quality of federal and ...

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The Commerce Clause isn't a "do-whatever-you-feel-like" power

January 22, 2016 | By JONATHAN WOOD

In an article published today by the Federalist Society’s Engage, I discuss PLF’s constitutional challenge to the Endangered Species Act in the prairie dog case. As you’ll recall, we represented People for the Ethical Treatment of Property Owners — a group of Utah residents who have suffered for decades under federal regulat ...

Articles

Has the pit bull of environmental law been spayed?

December 18, 2015 | By JONATHAN WOOD

The Endangered Species Act has often been called the “pit bull of environmental law” because “it’s short, compact and has a hell of a set of teeth. Because of its teeth, the act can force people to make the kind of tough political decisions they wouldn’t normally make.” As we’ve regularly reported, it can i ...

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More Delta wrangling

November 11, 2015 | By DAMIEN SCHIFF

Earlier this week, a coalition of “corporate”** environmental groups sought leave to file a supplemental complaint in NRDC v. Jewell, to challenge the Bureau of Reclamation’s water allocations to Sacramento River water users.  The nub of this case—which has been going on for a decade—is the environmentalists’ o ...

Articles

PLF's message to water rally : TVA v Hill's days are numbered

October 05, 2015 | By TONY FRANCOIS

Last Friday I spoke at the Take Back Our Water rally in Mendota, California. The theme of almost every speaker on the dais was that the use of the Endangered Species Act to cut off water to Central Valley farms was an act of government that subordinated the good of thousands of individuals, families, and … ...