As reported in this space, in November 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court remanded to the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit a determination by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service on critical habitat for the dusky gopher frog. ...more
In a unanimous decision (with Justice Kavanaugh not participating), the Supreme Court on November 27, 2018, remanded a controversial Endangered Species Act (ESA) decision for further consideration by the Fifth Circuit Court...more
On October 16, 2017, the now former Administrator of EPA, Scott Pruitt, issued a memo to the agency directing steps intended to end what has been known pejoratively as “sue and settle” – the practice of suing agencies,...more
A U.S. District Court in Arizona has ruled that DOJ’s narrow interpretation of the requirements for a criminal misdemeanor under the Endangered Species Act went beyond unreviewable prosecutorial discretion, and its policy was...more
The Tenth Circuit U. S. Court of Appeals dashed the hopes of property rights activists by overturning a district court decision that the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) had no jurisdiction under the Endangered Species Act...more
On August 11, 2015, a district court in Silicon Valley remanded a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) rule issued in 2013 that had extended the potential term of incidental take permits under the Bald and Golden Eagle...more
The Fish and Wildlife Service and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced last week that they are extending the deadline for comments on new critical habitat rules from July 11 to October 9, 2014. The...more
The Endangered Species Act (ESA) explicitly prohibits the consideration of economic impacts in making the decision to designate a species as “endangered.” However, consideration of such factors is allowed in the designation...more