Endangered Species Act

D.C. Circuit Affirms Polar Bear Listing

In an opinion released earlier today, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously rejected challenges to the listing of the polar bear as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act.  Read the full opinion, In re: Polar Bear Endangered Species Act Listing and Section 4(d) Rule Litigation – MDL No. 1993.  Holly has discussed …

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On “pretextual” listings of species for protection under the Endangered Species Act

The folks over at Pacific Legal Foundation’s (PLF) blog have been nice enough to post about an article that I co-authored with Berry Brosi at Emory University (paywall protected, unfortunately!). The article investigates the role that citizen petitions and citizen suits play in the process of listing species for protection under the Endangered Species Act …

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Obama Administration Proposes Merging NOAA’s Endangered Species Act Functions Into Department of the Interior

As reported in today’s Wall Street Journal, President Obama has proposed a major government reorganization merging into a single, cabinet-level agency federal trade and commerce responsibilities currently dispersed among a number of different agencies and departments. These reforms, which would require the consent of Congress to implement, would increase government efficiency and reduced federal expenditures. …

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“Please Don’t Murder Me”

Musical accompaniment to Justin’s post below.  “I cut my deck to the Queen of Spades, but the cards were all the same”: [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hhqyg_dTaTg]   More information here.

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Wolf delisting rule challenged in federal court

Yesterday, Alliance for the Wild Rockies, Friends of the Clearwater and WildEarth Guardians filed a compliant in the federal district court of Montana challenging the wolf delisting rider. You can check out a press release from WildEarth Guardians here. My previous posts describe the wolf delisting rider and the past litigation on the wolf delisting. …

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Gray Wolf Litigation Summary

I previously discussed the wolf delisting rider to the budget compromise bill. I thought it would be useful to summarize here the recent court opinions concerning the wolf, and consider the effects of the rider on those opinions.

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Of Wolves and Men

It looks like one of the losers in the budget compromise will be the wolf.  The Tester-Simpson rider, attached to the compromise federal budget bill, will delist wolves from the federal endangered species list in Montana, Idaho, Washington, Oregon and Utah.  Heather Hansen, at CU Boulder, has a detailed blog post on the wolf. The …

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A Risky FWS Proposal to Limit ESA Petitions

The Endangered Species Act has long been a lightning-rod for controversy.  The last administration tried to significantly circumscribe the scope of the ESA in a wide range of ways (see, e.g, here).  The Obama Administration up to this point in time has in general sharply contrasted with its predecessor in ESA management, including listing a …

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Update on Gulf sea turtle hatchlings

A few weeks ago, I mentioned that the Fish and Wildlife Service planned to collect eggs from sea turtle nests on the Gulf coast to move them to the east coast of Florida. Well, the plan is in process. All known sea turtle nests in Alabama and the panhandle of Florida are being marked, and …

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Singin’ the California Delta Blues (Muddy Waters Ahead?)

But there really is a California Delta, and it’s vitally important to the state’s water supply. It also raises major environmental issues. The struggle to manage the Delta has also given rise to one of the most ambitious experiments in collaborative governance anywhere — an experiment that had some successes but ultimately seemed to hit a brick wall.

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