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
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
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 February 12, 2018, in Alaska Oil & Gas Association v. National Marine Fisheries Service, Case No. 16-35380, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed a 2016 decision by the U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska that vacated a final regulation listing the Arctic subspecies of ringed seal (Phoca hispida hispida, Phoca … Continue Reading
On January 30, 2018, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) issued a final rule listing the oceanic whitetip shark (Carcharinus lonigmanus) as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). This final listing rule is the culmination of NMFS’ analysis following the 2015 petition filed by Defenders of Wildlife seeking to either list the … Continue Reading
On December 27, 2017, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit partially reversed and remanded a decision by the United States District Court for the District of Hawaii, delaying if not derailing an expansion in shallow-set longline swordfish fisheries. Environmental groups brought claims against the National Marine Fisheries Service (“NMFS”) and the U.S. … Continue Reading
On September 20, 2017, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (“USFWS”) listed three separate species under the Endangered Species Act (“ESA”). USFWS listed the Sonoyta mud turtle (Kinosternon sonoriense) as endangered, and the ‘I’iwi (Drepanis coccinea) and pearl darter (Percina aurora) as threatened species under the ESA. Despite listing all three species, the USFWS deferred … Continue Reading
On December 27, 2016, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) issued its final Endangered Species Act (ESA) Compensatory Mitigation Policy (Policy) – the first policy to comprehensively address compensatory mitigation under the ESA. The Policy applies to all forms of compensatory mitigation involving ESA compliance required or recommended by FWS, including conservation banks, in-lieu … Continue Reading
On April 21, 2016, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service (collectively, “Service”) announced revisions to their proposed modifications to the Endangered Species Act (“ESA”) petition process. 81 Fed. Reg. 23,448 (Apr. 21, 2016) (pdf). In May 2015, the Service announced proposed changes to the petition process for listing a species … Continue Reading
