The Center for Biological Diversity and Mountain Lion Foundation submitted a petition to the California Fish and Game Commission (the “Commission”) to list mountain lions (Puma concolor) in southern and central California as threatened or endangered pursuant to the California Endangered Species Act. The petition identifies habitat loss and fragmentation, due to roads and development, … Continue Reading
On June 12, 2019, the California Fish and Game Commission (Commission) voted 3-1 that listing four subspecies of bumble bee may be warranted under the California Endangered Species Act (CESA). The decision was made after the Xerces Society, Center for Food Safety, and Defenders of Wildlife filed a petition to list the Crotch bumble bee (Bombus crotchii), Franklin’s … Continue Reading
On May 22, 2019, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) announced a proposal to list two intriguing North Carolina aquatic species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The FWS was spurred to act in part by a 2010 petition and subsequent litigation from environmental organizations to list over 400 aquatic species found in the … Continue Reading
Over the last few weeks, besides proposing to remove the gray wolf (Canis lupus) from the List of Endangered and Threatened Species (which we covered here), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (“Service”) has made a few other moves related to the Endangered Species Act (“ESA”). On Monday, April 8, 2019, the Service published a … Continue Reading
On April 19, 2018, the California Fish and Game Commission voted 4-0 to list the tricolored blackbird (Agelaius tricolor) as a threatened species. A statewide survey conducted in 2017 estimated the California population of the species to be over 175,000 birds. The species is broadly distributed in California, occurring in roughly 40 counties, though the bulk … Continue Reading
On April 3, 2018, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) published a final to rule listing the yellow lance mussel (Elliptio lanceolata) as threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The final rule states that only seven populations of this freshwater mussel remain, all of which are located in Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina. … Continue Reading
On April 2, 2018, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) proposed downlisting the Hawaiian goose (Branta sandvicensis), locally known as the “nene,” from endangered to threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The Service also proposed adopting a special rule pursuant to ESA section 4(d), known as a “section 4(d) rule,” allowing incidental take … Continue Reading
On February 27, 2018, the National Marine Fisheries Service (“Service”) published a 90-day finding on the Karuk Tribe and Salmon River Restoration Council’s (“Petitioners”) petition to list the Upper Klamath-Trinity Rivers Basin (“UKTR”) Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawtscha) evolutionarily significant unit (“ESU”) as endangered or threatened. Based on the information included in Petitioners’ filing, the Service … Continue Reading
On February 27, 2018, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) finalized a regulation removing Eureka Valley evening-primrose (Oenothera californica ssp. eurekensis) from the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Plants. The delisting, originally proposed in 2014, is based on the elimination of threats to the subspecies, accomplished largely as a result of the 1994 … Continue Reading
