On July 23, 2025, the White House issued an Executive Order titled “Accelerating Federal Permitting of Data Center Infrastructure.” Released alongside “America’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) Action Plan,” the Order reflects a...more
8/7/2025
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
CEQ ,
Clean Air Act ,
Clean Water Act ,
Data Centers ,
Department of Energy (DOE) ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Energy Consumption ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Executive Orders ,
Infrastructure ,
NEPA ,
Permits
Several high-profile species — including the burrowing owl, Crotch’s bumble bee, western Joshua tree, western spadefoot toad, and the monarch butterfly — have recently been elevated to candidate status under either the...more
On October 10, 2024, the California Fish and Game Commission (Commission) unanimously voted to designate the western burrowing owl (Athene cunicularia hypugaea) as a candidate species under the California Endangered Species...more
6/19/2025
/ California ,
California Endangered Species Act ,
California Fish and Game Commission ,
CEQA ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Environmental Impact Report (EIR) ,
Habitat Conservation Plan ,
Land Developers ,
Permits ,
Real Estate Development ,
Risk Management
On April 17, 2025, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) (collectively, the Services) published a proposed rule in the Federal Register to rescind their respective...more
On December 10, 2024, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) proposed to list the monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) as threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA). A proposed critical habitat designation...more
At its October 10 meeting, the California Fish and Game Commission (the Commission) unanimously found that a petition to list the western burrowing owl (Athene cunicularia hypugaea) as an endangered or threatened species in...more
On June 27, 2024, the California First District Court of Appeal affirmed the denial of a writ petition challenging the City of Lafayette’s (City) determination that a 12-unit residential condominium building qualified for the...more
As detailed in our previous Legal Alert, six conservation groups filed a petition with the California Fish and Game Commission (Commission) on March 5, 2024 to request the implementation of legal protections for five...more
On March 5, 2024, six conservation groups filed a petition with the California Fish and Game Commission (the Commission) to request the implementation of legal protections for five populations of the western burrowing owl...more