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 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
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
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
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
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
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 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
The State of California recently sent a 60-day notice of intent to sue to the Secretaries of Commerce and the Interior and concurrently filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California...more
2/27/2020
/ Central Valley ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Environmental Impact Report (EIR) ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Infrastructure ,
National Marine Fisheries Service ,
Natural Resources ,
Notice of Intent ,
Secretary of Commerce ,
Secretary of the Interior ,
State and Local Government ,
Water ,
Water Quality Control Boards ,
Water Resources Control Board ,
Water Supplies
The United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit recently affirmed a lower court decision that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers need not consult with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service under section 7 of the...more
On January 15, 2020, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reversed a lower court decision that upheld the determination of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) denying a petition to delist the...more
1/16/2020
/ Appeals ,
Conservation ,
Critical Habitat ,
Delisting ,
Deregulation ,
Endangered Species ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Environmental Policies ,
ESA Listings ,
Habitat Conservation Plan ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Reversal ,
Rulemaking Process ,
US Fish and Wildlife Service
On November 21, 2019, the California Secretary for Natural Resources announced California’s decision to sue the federal government over its biological opinions for continuing operations of the California State Water Project...more
The Center for Biological Diversity and Mountain Lion Foundation submitted a petition to the California Fish and Game Commission (the “Commission”) to list mountain lions (Puma concolor) in southern and central California as...more
On June 12, 2019, the California Fish and Game Commission (Commission) voted 3-1 that listing four subspecies of bumble bee may be warranted under the California Endangered Species Act (CESA).? ...more
On May 3, 2019, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (“Service”) published a proposed rule to downlist the American burying beetle (Nicrophorus americanus) from endangered to threatened....more
With recent changes in state and federal leadership, as well as continuing developments from the Trump Administration, this seminar is a must-attend event for anyone involved in land use, zoning, environmental permitting,...more
4/18/2019
/ CEQA ,
Continuing Legal Education ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Site Assessment ,
Events ,
Land Use Restrictions ,
Public Projects ,
Real Estate Development ,
Rising Sea Levels ,
Sea Levels ,
Waters of the United States ,
Zoning Laws
In an article published online this week in BioScience, the American Institute of Biological Sciences’ scholarly journal, Drs. Dennis Murphy and Paul Weiland contribute to the literature on independent scientific review,...more
In WildEarth Guardians et al. v. U.S. Department of Justice, Case Nos. 17-16677, 17-16678, 17-16679 (Oct. 23, 2018), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit dismissed plaintiff-appellees case challenging the U.S....more
10/26/2018
/ Appeals ,
Article III ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Endangered Species ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Environmental Policies ,
Jury Instructions ,
Standard of Proof ,
Standing ,
Strict Liability ,
Takings Clause
The U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico granted New Mexico’s motion for summary judgment in a case brought by the Humane Society seeking to invalidate State trapping regulations related to cougars (Puma...more
On April 19, 2018, the California Fish and Game Commission voted 4-0 to list the tricolored blackbird (Agelaius tricolor) as a threatened species. A statewide survey conducted in 2017 estimated the California population of...more