On September 20, 2017, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (“USFWS”) listed three separate species under the Endangered Species Act (“ESA”). USFWS listed the Sonoyta mud turtle (Kinosternon sonoriense) as endangered, and the...more
Battle lines are being drawn in connection with ongoing efforts by lawmakers to reform the Endangered Species Act (“ESA”). In a letter addressed to the leaders of both houses of Congress, the Senate Environmental and Public...more
Join us for our first Environmental and Land Use Law Update in Northern California!
This complimentary seminar will be comprised of panel discussions on a spectrum of critical federal and state environmental and land use...more
On April 11, 2017, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (“D.C. Circuit”) held in Carpenters Industrial Council v. Zinke, 2017 U.S.App.LEXIS 6175, that a lumber company trade...more
On February 21, 2017, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that the San Luis & Delta-Mendota Water Authority and Westlands Water District (collectively, “Water Contractors”) lacked Article III standing to...more
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (“Service”) recently published a positive 90-day finding on a petition to list the Lesser Prairie-Chicken (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus) and three distinct population segments as endangered...more
On October 11, 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court denied the U.S. Forest Service’s (“Forest Service”) petition for writ of certiorari to review the U.S. Court of Appeal for the Ninth Circuit’s decision in Cottonwood Environmental...more
On August 25, 2016, the California Fish and Game Commission (Commission) voted unanimously to list the northern spotted owl (Strix occidentalis caurina) as a threatened species under the California Endangered Species Act. ...more
8/31/2016
/ California Fish and Game Commission ,
Conservation ,
Critical Habitat ,
Endangered Species ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Environmental Policies ,
ESA Listings ,
Habitat Conservation Plan ,
Marijuana ,
Timber ,
Wildfires
Join us for our annual Environmental and Land Use Law Update! This complimentary morning seminar will be comprised of panel discussions on a spectrum of critical federal and state environment and land use issues, including...more
On July 27, 2016, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (“USFWS”) published a Federal Register notice of its final Methodology for Prioritizing Status Reviews and Accompanying 12-Month Findings on Petitions for Listing Species...more
On June 3, 2016, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit held in Friends of Animals v. Jewell (No. 1:14-cv-00357) that Plaintiff Friends of Animals (“Plaintiff”) had Article III standing to pursue a constitutional...more
6/7/2016
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Article III ,
Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) ,
Endangered Species ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
ESA Listings ,
Incidental Take Permits ,
Injury-in-Fact ,
Section 9 ,
Standing ,
US Fish and Wildlife Service
On April 28, 2016, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) issued a revised Biological Opinion and Incidental Take Permit for the Rosemont Copper Mine in Pima County, Arizona. USFWS originally issued a Biological Opinion...more
On March 15, 2016, in Alaska Oil & Gas Association v. National Marine Fisheries Service, case number 4:14-cv-00029-RRB, the U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska vacated a final regulation promulgated by the National...more
On February 11, 2016, in Kuehl v. Cricket Hollow Zoo, Case No. C14-2034, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa ruled that the owners and operators of the Cricket Hollow Zoo, located in rural...more
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) has announced that it will remove the Johnston’s frankenia (Frankenia johnstonii) from the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Plants under the Endangered Species Act. Johnson...more
On December 17, 2015, the California Supreme Court issued its long-awaited decision in California Building Industry Association v. Bay Area Air Quality Management District (No. S213478). The sole question before the Court...more
On November 19, 2015, the Center for Environmental Science, Accuracy and Reliability (CESAR) filed a lawsuit against the California Department of Water Resources (DWR), the U.S. Department of the Interior (Interior) and the...more
In a notice published on October 8, 2015, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) announced its proposed 12-month finding on the Center for Biological Diversity’s (CBD) petition to list the Sierra Nevada red fox (Vulpes...more
Nossaman will host a complimentary half-day seminar comprised of panel discussions on a spectrum of critical federal and state environment and land use issues, including new federal rules implementing the Clean Water Act and...more
On August 11, 2015, the California Governor's Office of Planning and Research (OPR) released its Preliminary Discussion Draft of a comprehensive update to the CEQA Guidelines – the first global update to the CEQA Guidelines...more
Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) introduced a bill last week to help address ongoing and future drought in California. The bill, known as the California Emergency Drought Relief Act (Act), is expected to be folded into broader...more
8/7/2015
/ Central Valley ,
Clean Water Act ,
Delta Smelt ,
Department of Agriculture ,
Desalination ,
Drought ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Groundwater ,
Municipalities ,
Utilities Sector ,
Water Conservation ,
Water Supplies
On June 29, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court in Michigan v. Environmental Protection Agency invalidated the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Mercury and Toxic Air Standards (MATS) regulation by a 5 to 4 vote, finding that...more
On May 29, 2015, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM), in cooperation with the U.S. Forest Service, released Final Environmental Impact Statements for proposed amendments to existing Resource Management Plans (RMPs) for...more
Last week, Washington State Representative Dan Newhouse introduced the “Pacific Northwest Gray Wolf Management Act” (H.R. 1985), which would remove Endangered Species Act (ESA) protection for the gray wolf (Canis lupus)...more
On March 26, 2015, House of Representatives Republican Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) introduced a bill (H.R. 1667) to amend Section 4(b) of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) to require the Secretary of Interior to “make publicly...more