In a recent opinion, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed in part the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California’s grant of summary judgment to the National Marine Fisheries Service (“NMFS”) in Friends of the River v. NMFS, No. 18-15623 (9th Cir. Oct. 3, 2019). Plaintiff Friends … Continue Reading
On August 27, 2019, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service (Services) announced the finalization of regulations governing implementation of various aspects of the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Among those regulations were rules setting forth how the Services and other federal agencies were to consult on potential impacts of federal activities … Continue Reading
More than a year after the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) (collectively, Services) published proposals to revise several Endangered Species Act (ESA) implementing regulations, the agencies have announced that the final versions of the rules are ready for publication in the Federal Register. On July 25, 2018, USFWS … Continue Reading
As we reported here, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service (together, the “Services”) recently proposed revisions to the regulations that implement portions of the Endangered Species Act (“ESA”). The submission deadline for comments was September 24, 2018. If enacted, the Services assert that the proposed revisions would, among other … Continue Reading
In recent weeks, the Trump Administration and Congress have proposed changes to the Endangered Species Act (“ESA”) and its implementing regulations. Lawmakers from the Congressional Western Caucus introduced nine bills that would, according to the 15 legislators that introduced the bills, amend and modernize the ESA. The lawmakers assert that the bills would also incentivize … Continue Reading
In Friends of the River v. National Marine Fisheries Service, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California rejected challenges to Army Corps of Engineers and National Marine Fisheries Service decisions regarding the impact of dams, hydropower facilities, and water diversions along the Yuba River on listed fish species, the spring-run Chinook salmon … Continue Reading
On October 25, 2017, the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) released a report entitled “Review of the Department of the Interior Actions that Potentially Burden Domestic Energy” identifying agency actions that potentially burden the development or use of domestic energy resources. This report, generated in response to Executive Order 13783, identifies several “costly and … Continue Reading
On May 8, 2017, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California granted, in part, a motion for summary judgment brought by plaintiffs in a suit challenging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (“EPA”) approval of the registration and use of 73 pesticides containing the active ingredients clothianidin and thiamethoxam. See Ellis v. Housenger, … Continue Reading
In December 2015, Defenders of Wildlife employees published an article in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, in which they compiled and conducted basic statistical analyses of data regarding section 7 consultations from 2008 to 2015. Among their findings were the following: there were 81,461 informal and 6,829 formal consultations during that period; … Continue Reading
