On June 11, 2013, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issued a guidance memo regarding its obligations under section 7 of the Endangered Species Act....more
On July 1, 2013, the United States District Court for the Northern District of California issued an order granting, in part, Plaintiffs’ motion for attorneys fees in Wild Equity Institute v. City and County of San Francisco,...more
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) designated 2,485 acres in Kern County and Kings County in California as critical habitat for the Buena Vista Lake shrew (Sorex ornatus relictus). ...more
In 2007, Mingo Logan Coal Company received a Clean Water Act permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to discharge dredged or fill material from a mountain top coal mine in West Virginia into three...more
The State of Idaho enacted a law this spring asserting that the State has “primacy over the management of fish and wildlife.”...more
In a ruling that adds to the complexity of the federal regulatory landscape, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia held that the Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") has the authority to...more
On April 9, 2013, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California ruled on a motion by the United States and the State of California to extend the period of time to issue new biological opinions...more
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit stayed an injunction issued by the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas requiring the State to prepare a habitat conservation plan for the...more
On March 14, 2013, the State of California announced that it has released the first 4 of 12 chapters of the Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP). California plans to release the next three chapters on March 27, and the...more
After an unusual eight day bench trial, the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas held State officials in Texas violated the Endangered Species Act’s (ESA) prohibition on take of the federally listed...more
3/18/2013
In a unanimous panel decision, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit held that a biological opinion issued by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) regarding the effects of three pesticides on...more
Water users in Siskiyou County have avoided an additional hurdle to exercising their valid water rights, according to the Siskiyou County Superior Court. On December 24, 2012, Judge Karen L. Dixon held that the legislature...more
In Central Coast Forest Assoc. v. California Fish and Game Commission, the California Court of Appeal, Third Appellate District held that a petition to delist the endangered coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) under the...more
On December 26, 2012, in Strahan v. Roughead, the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts denied a motion brought by federal defendants to dismiss as moot plaintiffs’ claims that the Navy is operating...more
In an order issued on December 6, 2012, the United States District Court for the Northern District of California dismissed a lawsuit brought by Wild Equity and other plaintiffs alleging violations of the Endangered Species...more
In an order issued on December 6, 2012, the United States District Court for the Northern District of California dismissed a lawsuit brought by Wild Equity and other plaintiffs alleging violations of the Endangered Species...more
The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has released a public draft recovery plan for the distinct population segment (DPS) of steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) that occupies California's South-Central Coast. NMFS...more
Recently, House Representatives John Garamendi (D-Fairfield, CA), Jerry McNerney (D-Stockton, CA), Doris Matsui (D-Sacramento, CA), George Miller (D-Martinez, CA), and Mike Thompson (D-St. Helena, CA) introduced H.R. 6484...more
On September 25, 2012, Governor Jerry Brown signed Assembly Bill 2402 and Senate Bill 1148, which make a number of changes to the Fish and Game Code, into law. AB 2402 was sponsored by Assemblyman Jared Huffman and SB 1148...more
Governor Brown signed a bill into law that generally makes it unlawful to permit or allow a dog to pursue a bear or bobcat at any time. The bill, introduced as SB 1221 by State Senator Ted Lieu, is intended to curb the use of...more
In a 2-1 decision, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit recently upheld the decision of the Fish and Wildlife Service to delist the West Virginia northern flying squirrel (Glaucomys sabrinus...more
We previously reported the Fish and Wildlife Service's intention to delist the gray wolf (Canis lupus) in the State of Wyoming. Today the Service announced "that the Wyoming population of gray wolves is recovered and no...more
The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has granted a motion by appellees to dismiss an appeal pursued by the Natural Resources Defense Council and other organizations from an interim order enjoining one...more