Congress is set to begin ironing out differences in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) this week. The bill funds Department of Defense programs and activities. The House version of the must-pass bill includes a rider that would prohibit the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service from listing the greater sage grouse under the Endangered Species […]
A group of California commercial fishing organizations asked the U.S. Supreme Court this week to reverse a Ninth Circuit decision that expands the scope of the “Chevron deference doctrine.” In the 1984 case of Chevron USA Inc. v. NRDC, the Supreme Court ruled that agencies must be given deference in their interpretation of ambiguous statutes […]
On Tuesday (5/15/18), the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals issued an order vacating an incidental take permit issued by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for a pipeline project. The Atlantic Coast Pipeline project, backed by Dominion Energy, involves a 600-mile pipeline for natural gas. The proposed route starts in West Virginia and ends in […]
On May 29, a federal judge in California dismissed an environmental group’s lawsuit accusing the U.S. Forest Service, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, of improperly approving a forest-thinning project. The group argued that the project would imperil gray wolves and northern spotted owls; the former is endangered under the federal Endangered Species Act, while […]
Beverly Hills High School will soon begin to dismantle the iconic oil derrick next to its football field that has pumped crude oil for decades. Statewide, California oil production has been declining since 1986, when production peaked at 1.1 million barrels per day. In 2016, production was less than half that. Over the past 35 […]
The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear Weyerhaeuser Company’s, a timber company, challenge to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services’ decision to designate approximately 1,500 acres of private property in Louisiana as “critical habitat” for the endangered dusky gopher frog. The frog does not actually live on the property and the property as it […]
January 16, 2018 | Category:
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Endangered Species,
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Lawsuit,
NEPA,
News | Tags:
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lawsuitOn Wednesday, a three-judge panel from the Ninth Circuit rejected environmentalists’ appeal to overturn a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) policy that allows the taking of one owl species to help recover another. Friends of Animals initially sued the USFWS over a 2014 plan to kill thousands of barred owls (on the left in […]
January 9, 2018 | Category:
California,
Endangered Species,
Land Use,
Lawsuit,
News | Tags:
California,
california land use,
court case,
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lawsuit Last week, California River Watch sued a group of vineyard developers for allegedly violating the Endangered Species Act (ESA), arguing that the group engaged in agricultural practices that harm the protected California Tiger Salamander (CTS). In 2014, a group of developers filed for and received permits to convert 9.8 acres of their property into […]
January 3, 2018 | Category:
Endangered Species,
Land Use,
Oil and Gas | Tags:
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endangered species,
land use,
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oil,
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speciesLast week, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) issued an instruction memorandum (IM) revising an Obama-era policy that directed agency field offices to prioritize oil and natural gas leasing and drilling projects outside of the most sensitive greater sage grouse habitat. The IM now says that the BLM does not need to lease and develop […]
Matthew Leopold was confirmed as U.S. EPA’s general counsel, and David Ross (formerly Wisconsin Assistant Attorney General) was also confirmed as the EPA’s water office chief. New Release HERE and HERE.
