ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT

A United States judge wants a plan to protect the humpback whales from fisheries. The National Marine Fisheries Service kills an an average of one humpback whale per year.

A U.S. judge says the National Marine Fisheries Service violated the law when it failed to develop a plan to prevent the harming of humpback whales by West Coast commercial fishermen catching sablefish.

The ungainly yet graceful wood stork, which was on the brink of extinction in 1984, has rebounded dramatically in Florida and other Southern states, officials say.

Only a final written reevaluation by the Federal Aviation Administration remains before the airport can begin construction of a road that would cost the bee 9.3 acres of habitat, including 1.7 acres of the highest-quality prairie.

The vanishing North Atlantic right whale will remain protected under the Endangered Species Act. The species will require a series of protective steps to ensure they don't go extinct.

The Biden administration declared the northern long-eared bat endangered on Nov. 29 in a last-ditch effort to save a species driven to the brink of extinction by white-nose syndrome, a fungal disease.

A legal battle over an endangered toad and a geothermal power plant in Nevada has many similarities to the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark case on the Endangered Species Act nearly a half-century ago.

The snail darter, a tiny Southeastern fish that derailed a federal dam during an epic battle over Endangered Species Act protection in the '70s, is no longer considered imperiled, officials announced.

California's state Endangered Species Act is now classifying bees as fish to protect them against insecticides that kill them.

A federal judge has thrown out a host of actions by the Trump administration to roll back protections for endangered or threatened species.

The ruling voids regulations that have weakened protections for wildlife under the landmark Endangered Species Act.

A federal judge on Tuesday threw out a host of actions by the Trump administration to roll back protections for endangered or threatened species, a year after the Biden administration said it was moving to strengthen such species protections. U.S. District Judge Jon Tigar in Northern California eliminated the Trump-era rules even as two wildlife agencies under President Joe Biden are reviewing or rescinding the regulations. The decision restores a range of protections under the Endangered Species Act — including some that date to the 1970s — while the reviews are completed.

The Biden administration appealed the federal court ruling that sent gray wolves back onto the endangered species list, emphasizing the unsettled protection status of the iconic apex predator across the United States. The species has repeatedly been shielded – and not shielded – by endangered species protections either because of policy changes or court orders. I mean, we’re really making a mockery of the Endangered Species Act,” said Gary Gorniak, president of the Straits Area Sportsman’s Club. His group supports state wildlife officials with the Department of Natural Resources setting regulations for an annual wolf hunt to help keep the population in check. Michigan officials are legally responsible to oversee control of wolves when they are delisted, and to protect the species under federal law when under endangered species safeguards.

A Native American tribe in Oregon said Tuesday it is assessing its legal options after learning the U.S. government plans to release water from a federally operated reservoir to downstream farmers along the Oregon-California border amid a historic drought. This summer's water allocation plan, released by the Bureau of Reclamation last week, will send about 50,000 acre-feet of water to farmers in the Klamath Reclamation Project — less than 15% of what they would get in a normal year. An acre-foot is the amount needed to cover one acre of land with water one foot deep.

A California judge has ruled that the gray wolf should be returned to the Endangered Species list after hunters have decimated the species in recent years.

A California judge has ruled that the gray wolf should be returned to the Endangered Species list after hunters have decimated the species in recent years.

After Trump removed the gray wolf from the list of animals protected by the Endangered Species Act, wildlife officials and activists hoped Biden would reverse the move.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing it under the Endangered Species Act. One study shows their colonies could be on brink of extinction by 2100.

With climate change threatening the sea ice habitat of Emperor penguins, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Tuesday announced a proposal to list the species as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.

The Biden administration says it is canceling or reviewing a host of actions by the Trump administration to roll back protections for endangered or threatened species, with a goal of strengthening a landmark law while addressing climate change.

The Biden administration says it is canceling or reviewing a host of actions by the Trump administration to roll back protections for endangered or threatened species, with a goal of strengthening a landmark law while addressing climate change. The reviews by the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service are aimed at five Endangered Species Act regulations finalized by the Trump administration, including critical habitat designations and rules defining the scope of federal actions on endangered species.

Ivory jewelry made from elephant tusks was recently taken from a traveler at Detroit Metro Airport, officials said.

The United States has seized 68 protected lions, tigers, lion-tiger hybrids, and a jaguar from Jeffrey and Lauren Lowe’s Tiger King Park in Thackerville, Oklahoma, pursuant to a judicially-authorized search and seizure warrant, for ongoing Endangered Species Act (ESA) violations. The Justice Department will seek civil forfeiture of these animals and any offspring pursuant to the ESA’s forfeiture provision. Fish and Wildlife Service enforces the Endangered Species Act,” said Assistant Director Edward Grace of the U.S. We work jointly with our federal law enforcement partners to conserve and protect natural resources and we are pleased that we could provide our expertise to assist the U.S. They are assisted by attorneys from the Civil Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma.

Today, as billions of people around the world celebrate Earth Day, I want to acknowledge Department of Justice attorneys, investigators, and professional staff who work every day to advance the cause of justice by enforcing those laws. Although environmental crime and injustice can happen anywhere, communities of color, low-income communities, and tribal communities often bear the highest burden of the harm caused by environmental crime, pollution, and climate change. Earlier this week, I was proud to join EPA Administrator Michael Regan in announcing the nation’s first-ever Environmental Crime Victim Assistance Program. On this 51st Earth Day celebration, we honor our mission by advancing the cause of environmental justice. Read the Attorney General’s remarks at the DOJ-EPA Listening Session on Promoting Justice for Victims of Environmental Crime here.

Senate Resolution 15 passed Tuesday, March 9 along a party-line vote, with all 20 seated Republicans supporting the resolution. The Michigan DNR reiterated its position on a hunt in response to Tuesday’s resolution adoption. If Michigan were to hold another wolf hunt, it would be the state’s second ever. The DNR estimates Michigan’s population to be holding stable in recent years at roughly 700 wolves spread among 143 packs. Related stories:Hunt supporters argue wolves need population controlRepublicans push to open season on wolvesDNR calls first Michigan wolf hunt a ‘success’Michigan voters reject wolf hunting lawsEndangered or not?

On Jan. 15, 2021, a federal court issued a preliminary injunction in favor of the United States and against Jeffrey and Lauren Lowe, Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park LLC, and Tiger King LLC based on claimed violations of the Endangered Species Act and the Animal Welfare Act. U.S. District Court Judge John F. Heil III ordered the Lowes to immediately surrender all Big Cat cubs under the age of one year and their mothers to the government for the pendency of the injunction. The court also ordered the defendants to retain an attending veterinarian and to provide records accounting for all animals acquired and disposed of since June 2020. Although long authorized by statute, this case marks the first time that the government sought civil judicial injunctive relief under the Animal Welfare Act. The court was not persuaded by the defendants’ argument that they were not “exhibitors” under the Animal Welfare Act because the zoo was still under construction.

Trump administration officials on Thursday, Oct. 29, 2020, stripped Endangered Species Act protections for gray wolves in most of the U.S., ending longstanding federal safeguards and putting states in charge of overseeing the predators. – Wildlife advocates on Thursday asked a federal court to overturn a U.S. government decision that stripped Endangered Species Act protections for wolves across most of the nation. Protections for wolves in the Rockies were lifted over the last decade and hunting of them is allowed. If endangered species protections were restored, wolves would again fall under authority of the federal government, not the state. A small population of Mexican gray wolves in the Southwest remain protected as an endangered species.

The interior least tern, a hardy Midwestern bird that survived a craze for its plumage and dam-building that destroyed much of its habitat, has soared off the endangered species list. (AP Photo/Dave Martin File)TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. – The interior least tern, a hardy Midwestern bird that survived a craze for its plumage and dam-building that destroyed much of its habitat, has soared off the endangered species list. Environmental groups that sometimes have opposed dropping species from the endangered list supported the removal of the interior least tern. “We consider it an Endangered Species Act success story for sure,” said Noah Greenwald of the Center for Biological Diversity. But he cautioned that vigilance was needed to make sure the bird's river habitat remains secure.

WASHINGTON, DC — The Trump administration has decided not to extend Endangered Species Act protections to the iconic and beloved monarch butterfly despite dwindling population counts across North America. Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) said other “higher-priority listing actions” preclude designating the monarch as threatened or endangered, but the butterfly will become a “candidate” for future listing. “We conducted an intensive, thorough review using a rigorous, transparent science-based process and found that the monarch meets listing criteria under the Endangered Species Act,” FWS director Aurelia Skipwith said in a statement. Scientists estimate the monarch population in the eastern U.S. has dropped by 80 percent since the mid-1990s; from 384 million in 1996 to a low of 14 million in 2013 as measured by density. Globally, 90 percent of the world’s monarch population exists in North America.

FILE - In this June 2, 2019, file photo, a fresh monarch butterfly rests on a Swedish Ivy plant soon after emerging in Washington. Trump administration officials are expected to say this week whether the monarch butterfly, a colorful and familiar backyard visitor now caught in a global extinction crisis, should receive federal designation as a threatened species. Emergency action could be taken earlier, but plans now call for proposing to list the monarch under the Endangered Species Act in 2024 unless its situation improves enough to make the step unnecessary. Trump's team also has weakened protections for endangered and threatened species in its push for deregulation. “Protection for monarchs is needed — and warranted — now," said George Kimbrell, legal director for the Center for Food Safety.

Today, the Department of Justice filed a civil complaint against Jeffrey and Lauren Lowe, Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park LLC, and Tiger King LLC, to address recurring inhumane treatment and improper handling of animals protected by the Endangered Species Act. The complaint alleges violations of the Endangered Species Act and the Animal Welfare Act and asks the court to declare that defendants have violated and will continue to violate the Endangered Species Act by illegally taking, possessing, and transporting protected animals, and the Animal Welfare Act by exhibiting without a license and placing the health of animals in serious danger. The Wynnewood facility exhibited numerous animals protected by the Endangered Species Act, including tigers, lions, and other big cats, a grizzly bear, and ring-tailed lemurs. As one example of this inhumane treatment, in June 2020, USDA Animal Plant and Health Inspection Service inspectors observed a lion cub named Nala. USDA suspended Jeffrey Lowe’s Animal Welfare Act exhibitor license and initiated an administrative action to permanently revoke his license.

Jean-Michel Arrigona, 58, and his company Natur, Inc. in Midvale, Utah, sell wildlife in the forms of art, taxidermy mounts, bones, and skeletons. The indictment alleges that Arrigona imported wildlife into the United States without declaring it to U.S. The Lacey Act is the nation’s oldest wildlife trafficking statute and prohibits, among other things, selling wildlife that had been illegally brought into the country. The Endangered Species Act and federal regulations require importers to declare wildlife when it enters the country. The operation focused on the trafficking of wildlife from Indonesia to the United States.

Trump administration officials on Thursday, Oct. 29, 2020, stripped Endangered Species Act protections for gray wolves in most of the U.S., ending longstanding federal safeguards and putting states in charge of overseeing the predators. (U.S. Forest Service via AP, File)BILLINGS, Mont. – Wildlife advocates and environmental groups have announced that they are challenging the removal of federal protections for gray wolves across most of the U.S.Two coalitions of groups filed formal notices over the past several days that they plan to sue the U.S. The Trump administration last week finalized a decision that ends longstanding federal safeguards for gray wolves in the Lower 48 states except for a small population of Mexican gray wolves in the Southwest. But they remain absent from much of their historical range and wildlife advocates have said protections still are needed.

The Trump administration on Thursday ended Endangered Species Act protections for gray wolves in most of the United States, which could lead to hunting in Michigan and other states. A remnant population in the western Great Lakes region has since expanded to some 4,400 animals in Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin. Michigan’s Upper Peninsula wolf population has grown to nearly 700 animals, compared to 20 in 1992, according to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. In 2013, when the animal was briefly delisted in the three Midwestern states, Michigan considered reinstating wolf hunts. Wolves will lose protection in January, 60 days after the decision is published in the Federal Register on Nov. 3, the report said.

Both feared and revered by people, gray wolves have recovered from near extinction in parts of the country but remain absent from much of their historical range. Federal wildlife officials contend thriving populations in the western Great Lakes region, Rocky Mountains and Pacific Northwest ensure the species' long-term survival. “In the early part of the 20th century the gray wolf had essentially become a ghost throughout the United States," Bernhardt said. The decision keeps protections for a small population of Mexican gray wolves in the Southwest. Fish and Wildlife Service would have no say about moving ahead with the plan, if voters approve it.

The Center for Biological Diversity, an advocacy nonprofit organization and petitioner to have the monarch listed under the Endangered Species Act, is hoping to see the monarch federally protected, said Tara Cornelisse, a senior scientist with the organization’s Endangered Species Program. There have been good-faith efforts to increase milkweed and protect monarch habitat, Cornelisse said, but some efforts can be piecemeal or are stronger than others. “But with the listing, what it will do is it will really formalize the protection for the species.”

BOISE, Idaho Governors from 22 Western states and Pacific territories want a bigger say in how the Trump administration defines habitat for wildlife protected under the Endangered Species Act. The governors insist they are co-sovereigns with the federal government" and need an equal role in the decision. Once an imperiled species is listed under the act, federal officials designate critical habitat that it needs to survive. The U.S. Supreme Court called into question the definition of critical habitat in a 2018 ruling. Fish and Wildlife Service, for example, designated critical habitat earlier this year for slickspot peppergrass, a rare desert flower in southwestern Idaho, that protected about 65 square miles (170 square kilometers).

Democratic lawmakers and wildlife advocates said the proposal ignores shifting threats to wildlife and plants due to climate change and habitat loss. It follows other steps under Trump to scale back or alter endangered species rules, including lifting blanket protections for animals newly listed as threatened and setting cost estimates for saving species. It gives a standard which weve been lacking for the past 45 years to guide critical habitat designations, he said. You wont have the free-roaming critical habitat designations like you would have in the Weyerhaeuser case.The Trump administration ultimately withdrew the Louisiana critical habitat designation in a settlement. The purpose of the Endangered Species Act is to help endangered species flourish and expand back into their former habitat. said Grijalva, chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee.

This undated photo provided by the Center for Biological Diversity shows a Pascagoula map turtle. The federal government says it will decide whether protection is needed for Pascagoula map turtles, found only in Mississippi, and Pearl River map turtles, found in Mississippi and Louisiana. The agreement settles a lawsuit filed in January calling for a declaration that Pearl River map turtles and Pascagoula map turtles are endangered or threatened. One is found in the Pearl River watershed in Louisiana and Mississippi, and the other only in part of Mississippis Pascagoula River system. Pascagoula and Pearl River map turtles are among 13 species of map turtles, named for shell markings that resemble maps.

Seventeen states sued the Trump administration Wednesday to block rules weakening the Endangered Species Act, saying the changes would make it tougher to protect wildlife even in the midst of a global extinction crisis. They for the first time allow officials to consider how much it would cost to save a species. "It's a death by a thousand cuts for the Endangered Species Act," said Democratic Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson, announcing the lawsuit in a Seattle news conference. It requires the government to list species that are endangered or threatened. They argue that the rules changes contradict the goals of the Endangered Species Act and that the administration failed to provide a reasoned basis for the changes or analyze their environmental impacts as required by federal law.

Endangered Species Act, prompting state attorneys general and conservation groups to threaten legal action to protect at-risk species. These changes crash a bulldozer through the Endangered Species Acts lifesaving protections for Americas most vulnerable wildlife, Noah Greenwald, the Center for Biological Diversitys endangered species director, said in a statement. Some lawmakers from Western states and free market conservation groups applauded the changes, seeing them as helping states and landowners. Wyoming Republican Senator John Barrasso said the revision was a good first step but Congress should also reform the Endangered Species Act. REUTERS/Jim UrquhartWe must modernize the Endangered Species Act in a way that empowers states, promotes the recovery of species, and allows local economies to thrive, Barrasso said.

"The best way to uphold the Endangered Species Act is to do everything we can to ensure it remains effective in achieving its ultimate goal recovery of our rarest species," Bernhardt said. The Endangered Species Act currently protects more than 1,600 species in the United States and its territories. "The Endangered Species Act exists to identify struggling species and help them recover. "This effort to gut protections for endangered and threatened species has the same two features of most Trump administration actions: it's a gift to industry, and it's illegal. We'll see the Trump administration in court about it," Drew Caputo, a vice president of litigation for the conservation advocacy group Earthjustice.

Fish and Wildlife Service on Tuesday restored federal protections to grizzly bears in and around Yellowstone National Park, abiding by a court ruling last year that removal of the bears threatened status violated the Endangered Species Act. FILE PHOTO: A grizzly bear and her two cubs approach the carcass of a bison in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, United States, July 6, 2015. They cited pressures that hunting and encroaching human development posed to a species that is slow to reproduce. The Fish and Wildlife Service said in a statement on Tuesday that it had employed the best scientific and commercial data when it de-listed the Yellowstone grizzlies, which it said had experienced robust population growth, but that it was complying with the judges order. Fewer than 2,000 grizzlies are estimated to inhabit the Lower 48 states, and the species had remained under federal protection in five other regions outside of Yellowstone.