GOP lawmakers take aim at Endangered Species Act
WASHINGTON — The Endangered Species Act has long had its foes, particularly in the West.
But in recent months, the law has taken an unprecedented hit from Congress. Republicans, led by Rep. Mike Simpson of Idaho, successfully used a budget bill signed into law by the president to return to the states of Idaho and Montana the ability to manage their wolf populations.
It's the latest move in a long-raging battle over how to manage gray wolves that has pitted environmentalists, ranchers, state wildlife managers and the federal government against each other.
It effectively took the wolves off the federal endangered species list in those two states, sidestepping provisions in the Endangered Species Act that give citizens the ability to use the courts to force the government to act on endangered species.
Environmentalists say they fear the successful wolf delisting language will open the act to new legislative attacks. It "has certainly emboldened certain members who for political reasons see a benefit in stopping new listings," said Mike Senatore, vice president of conservation law at Defenders of Wildlife. "It set exceedingly bad precedent."
They were particularly alarmed by one of the first evidences of fallout: an amendment filed earlier this month by Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, who wants to halt the proposed listing of the dunes sagebrush lizard in New Mexico. He joins House Republicans, who've already filed legislation to stop the potential listing of the lizard and the lesser prairie chicken.
Cornyn, who has joined Rep. Steve Pearce, R-N.M., in saying that the proposed listings could shut down oil and gas production in parts of west Texas and eastern New Mexico, called the lizard a "scaly political pawn." Its listing would "score points with radical environmentalists," he warned earlier this month.
But in a report, the Center for Biological Diversity points out that the proposed habitat is 5 percent — or about 2,920 acres — of the 52,874 acres offered for oil and gas lease since the beginning of 2010. The environmental group also accuses the lawmakers who oppose the listings of being too closely tied to the oil and gas industry.
"It really fits into their message of the big, bad federal government," the center's Noah Greenwald said of Republicans. "It also reflects their corporate interests — their campaign contributors in the oil and gas industry.
Gray Wolf Endangered Species - News
It's the latest move in a long-raging battle over how to manage gray wolves that has pitted environmentalists, ranchers, state wildlife managers and the federal government against each other. It effectively took the wolves off the federal endangered
Many residents don't like the wolves because the animals kill elk, livestock and pets. Conservation groups howled when Congress removed the Rocky Mountain gray wolf from the federal endangered species list. The "delisting" in most of the Northwest was
It also inflicted a serious toll on an ecosystem that's home to numerous endangered species. The flames spared three packs of endangered Mexican gray wolves but likely killed at least some threatened Mexican spotted owls as it roared through more than
Public opinion on gray wolves remains sharply split as Montana and Idaho prepare to resume hunts for the predators after Congress removed their endangered species protections. Montana wildlife commissioners meet July 14 to adopt a quota of 220 wolves
Founded in 1971 by Marlin Perkins of Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom, the Endangered Wolf Center is a breeding facility exclusively for endangered canine species. Today it houses swift foxes, African wild dogs, maned wolves, Mexican gray wolves and red
Arizona District Court Dismisses Section 7(a)(1) Challenge to ...
The United States District Court for the District of Arizona entered summary judgment (pdf) for the United States Forest Service in a case filed by Defenders of Wildlife and other plaintiffs alleging the Forest Service failed to fulfill its duty to conserve under section 7(a)(1) of the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The case focused on efforts to conserve the Mexican gray wolf ( Canis lupus baileyi ) by reintroducing an experimental population of the species into the Blue Range Wolf Recovery Area , which includes portions of east-central Arizona and west-central New Mexico. Plaintiffs complained that too often wolves reintroduced into the Recovery Area were removed by the Forest Service for preying on livestock, arguing that the Forest Service's livestock permitting program is interfering with Mexican wolf recovery efforts.
Plaintiffs pursued two specific claims against the Forest Service under section 7(a)(1). First, they argued that the Forest Service violated section 7(a)(1) by failing to develop and implement its own Mexican wolf conservation program. In response, the Forest Service argued that it fulfilled its obligation under section 7(a)(1) by carrying out a conservation program, namely the Mexican wolf recovery plan (pdf), developed by the Fish and Wildlife Service. The court interpreted section 7(a)(1) to impose a requirement on the Forest Service to "carry out a substantive conservation program for the Mexican gray wolf." But the court went on to hold that Plaintiffs' position that the Forest Service must develop its own program and may not implement a program developed by the Fish and Wildlife Service "puts form over substance" and is not supported by the statute or relevant caselaw.
Second, Plaintiffs argued that the Forest Service has not contributed to the conservation of the Mexican wolf and, instead, demonstrated a preference for wolf removal to protect domestic livestock. The court opined that, to the extent that the Forest Service took no action to conserve the species, such inaction would plainly violate the section 7(a)(1) duty to conserve. But, in this case, the court held that the record demonstrates affirmative action to carry out the Fish and Wildlife Service wolf conservation program.
The court's holdings are consistent with the balance of the jurisprudence interpreting section 7(a)(1) of the ESA, which support the proposition that federal agencies "have substantial discretion in determining how best to fulfill their section 7(a)(1) obligations." As a result, the decision reiterates the difficulty would-be plaintiffs will face if they pursue a claim under section 7(a)(1) of the ESA.
Gray Wolf Endangered Species - Bookshelf
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Endangered and Threatened Animal - Gray Wolf ... Gray wolf packs may contain fewer individuals and be less cohesive in nature than is the case reported for the northern ...
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Get the facts on wolves. Endangered Species Act (ESA): Gray wolves are listed as endangered throughout the United States except for a few states. Take action and ...
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Few species have raised as much intense controversy and interest over the ages as the wolf. The gray wolf is the largest wild member of the dog family. ...
