On March 5, 2024, the Center for Biological Diversity and several other groups submitted a petition to the California Fish and Game Commission (the Commission) to list the western burrowing owl (Athene cunicularia hypugaea)...more
On December 21, 2023, I published a post on the Center for California Water Resources Policy and Management’s DeltaCurrents blog discussing integration of resource optimization into endangered species policy to improve...more
12/28/2023
/ California ,
Critical Habitat ,
Endangered Species ,
Environmental Policies ,
Habitat Conservation Plan ,
National Marine Fisheries Service ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
US Fish and Wildlife Service ,
Water ,
Water Conservation ,
Water Resources Facilities ,
Water Supplies ,
Wildlife Protection
On July 10, 2023, Governor Newsom signed Senate Bill 147 (SB147) into law, amending California’s “fully protected species” statutes. These laws were enacted in 1970 and currently protect 37 species native to California,...more
On June 16, 2023, in a highly anticipated decision, the United States Court of Appeal for the D.C. Circuit set aside a biological opinion regarding the effects of the federal lobster fishery on the North Atlantic right whale...more
6/21/2023
/ Conservation ,
Critical Habitat ,
Endangered Species ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Environmental Policies ,
ESA Listings ,
Habitat Conservation Plan ,
National Marine Fisheries Service ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
US Fish and Wildlife Service ,
Vacated
Recently, the United States District Court for the Northern District of California refused to dismiss a lawsuit filed by a concerned citizen against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) and National Marine Fisheries...more
3/14/2023
/ California ,
Dams ,
Endangered Species ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Environmental Litigation ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Violations ,
Incidental Take Permits ,
National Marine Fisheries Service ,
Rivers ,
US Army Corps of Engineers
On February 28, 2023, I published a post on the Center for California Water Resources Policy and Management’s DeltaCurrents blog discussing Species Status Assessments (SSAs) as a tool to facilitate implementation of the...more
3/6/2023
/ Conservation ,
Critical Habitat ,
Endangered Species ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Environmental Assessments ,
Environmental Policies ,
ESA Listings ,
Habitat Conservation Plan ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
US Fish and Wildlife Service ,
Water Management
On November 17, 2022, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) voted unanimously to issue an Order Modifying and Approving Surrender License and Removal of Project Facilities Order (“Order”) for the Lower Klamath...more
Recently, I authored a post for DeltaCurrents, the Center for California Water Resources Policy and Management's blog. The focus of the piece is on the ways in which science can play a role in the success of the so-called...more
Last Friday, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California issued an order on competing motions in the coordinated cases challenging the 2019 biological opinions (BiOps) that govern operation of California’s...more
In July 2021, CalTrout submitted a petition to the California Fish and Game Commission (Commission) to list a population of the fish Oncorhynchus mykiss, referred to as the Southern California Steelhead or Southern Steelhead,...more
This week, I published a post on the Center for California Water Resources Policy and Management’s DeltaCurrents blog discussing the Biden Administration’s proposal to rescind the definition of habitat. ...more
On September 20, 2021, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California set aside the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (Service) negative 12-month finding (Finding) on a petition by WildEarth Guardians...more
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) recently listed the Franklin’s bumble bee as an endangered species under the Endangered Species Act. Historical records indicate that the species is endemic to southwest Oregon...more
The California Endangered Species Act (CESA) is one of the most important legal tools available to the Fish and Game Commission and Department of Fish and Wildlife to protect the State’s wildlife resources. The listing...more
In a per curiam decision, the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit dismissed the Center for Biological Diversity’s (CBD) challenge to the Fish and Wildlife Service’s (Service) process for assessing the status...more
On May 17, 2021, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) rule requiring that affected states receive a 30-day notice of an intent to file a petition to...more
The first 100 days of a new administration can define what lies ahead for the next four years. On April 15, 2021, a panel of Nossaman Environment & Land Use attorneys from across the U.S. reviewed and evaluated the Biden...more
The first 100 days of a new administration can define what lies ahead for the next four years. Join our panel of Nossaman Environment & Land Use attorneys from across the U.S. on April 15, 2021 from 11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. PT...more
3/30/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
CEQ ,
Climate Change ,
Continuing Legal Education ,
Department of the Interior ,
Department of Transportation (DOT) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Environmental Review ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Natural Resources ,
NEPA ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Renewable Energy ,
Webinars ,
Wildlife Protection
This week, I published a post on the Center for California Water Resources Policy and Management’s DeltaCurrents blog discussing the role of conceptual ecological models in implementing the federal Endangered Species Act....more
Recently, the Department of the Interior released a pre-publication version of a Federal Register notice delaying the effective date of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) take definitional rule to March 8, 2021, and opening...more
On December 15, 2020, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service (collectively, the agencies) released a pre-publication version of a final rule providing a definition of “habitat” for the...more
12/17/2020
/ Conservation ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Critical Habitat ,
Endangered Species ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Environmental Policies ,
ESA Listings ,
Habitat Conservation Plan ,
National Marine Fisheries Service ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Reform ,
US Fish and Wildlife Service
The Sacramento Superior Court upheld a challenge to a decision by the California Fish and Game Commission to designate four subspecies of bumble bees as candidates for protection under the California Endangered Species Act...more
The California Fish and Game Commission deferred the decision on whether to make the western Joshua tree a candidate for listing to a special meeting in September 2020. In a hearing on August 20, 2020, the Commission heard a...more
The Departments of Commerce and the Interior (Departments) have completed a proposed rule to define the term “habitat” as that term is used in the context of designating “critical habitat” under section 7(a)(2) of the...more
Over the past decade, proponents of an effort to remove four dams on the lower Klamath River have hit a series of roadblocks. The most recent came on July 16, 2020, when the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) voted...more
7/21/2020
/ Agricultural Land ,
Critical Habitat ,
Dams ,
Endangered Species ,
Environmental Policies ,
Farms ,
FERC ,
Inland Waterways ,
Native American Issues ,
Natural Resources ,
Popular ,
State and Local Government ,
Tribal Lands ,
Water Rights