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
The effects of the partial Federal government shutdown are being felt at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (“Service”). The shutdown has virtually halted the Service’s processing of pending rulemakings under the Endangered...more
On October 16, 2018, the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, Defenders of Wildlife, and the Center for Food Safety submitted a petition to the California Fish and Game Commission (Commission) to list the Crotch...more
On August 23, 2018, the California Fish and Game Commission (“Commission”) listed the Humboldt marten (Marten caurina humboldtensis) as an endangered species under the California Endangered Species Act (“CESA”). The...more
In the Fall 2017 publication of the Unified Agenda of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, the Department of the Interior announced its intent to revise the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s regulations governing...more
12/22/2017
/ Conservation ,
Critical Habitat ,
Department of the Interior ,
Deregulation ,
Endangered Species ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Environmental Policies ,
ESA Listings ,
Executive Orders ,
Habitat Conservation Plan ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Trump Administration ,
US Fish and Wildlife Service
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
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
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
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
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 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
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
On February 17, 2015, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced its final decision to remove the Oregon chub (Oregonichthys crameri) from the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife under the Federal Endangered...more
The decision by the Ninth Circuit in Alliance for the Wild Rockies v. U.S. Dep't of Agriculture, No. 13-35253 (9th Cir. Nov. 20, 2014), permitting plaintiffs to amend a complaint to add claims under the federal Endangered...more
The federal Endangered Species Act (ESA) imposes certain procedural hurdles on any would-be plaintiff commencing a citizen suit to compel compliance with the ESA. One of the more substantive requirements is the 60-day notice...more