Brooks Law Digest: Wildlife

The Fish and Wildlife Service has announced it is seeking comments on numerous applications for permits under the Endangered Species Act and Marine Mammal Protection Act. Applications include requests for captive bred permits for crocodiles, tortoises, penguins, and other animals; permits to kill “excess” deer and oryx; and permits to import sport-hunted trophies. The agency is accepting comments on these permit applications until June 22, 2020.

Sea Shepherd has filed suit against a variety of federal agencies, alleging that the agencies’ failure to ban imports from certain fisheries in New Zealand that cause harm to endangered dolphins violates the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the Administrative Procedure Act.

The Environmental Protection Agency has announced it is seeking comments on whether the agency should reconsider its current position that consultation under section 7 of the Endangered Species Act is not required when the agency approves a request to assume the Clean Water Act section 404 dredged and fill permit program. The agency is accepting comments until July 6, 2020.

The city of Wuhan, China has banned the consumption, breeding, and hunting of wild animals amid mounting pressure for the country to regulate the wildlife trade.

A federal judge in California has dismissed two (1, 2) lawsuits filed by environmental and animal protection groups challenging the federal government’s recent rollbacks of the Endangered Species Act, saying that the groups failed to establish standing. A similar lawsuit brought by a coalition of states, however, survived.

The Fish and Wildlife Service has issued a final rule designating the Southern Sierra Nevada Distinct Population Segment of the fisher as endangered. The rule goes into effect June 15, 2020.

Defenders of Wildlife has let the Fish and Wildlife Service know that it intends to file suit against the agency, alleging that the agency’s decision to allow horseshoe crab harvests in South Carolina puts several species of threatened birds and their habitats at risk.

A California federal court has temporarily halted the expansion of federal water export operations in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta until the end of the month in order to protect several species listed for protection under the Endangered Species Act, including Chinook salmon and California Central Valley steelhead.

The Center for Biological Diversity, Defenders of Wildlife, and the Animal Legal Defense Fund have filed suit against the Trump administration, challenging the diversion of funds toward constructing a border wall. The complaint alleges violation of the 2020 Consolidated Appropriations Act, the Administrative Procedure Act, the Appropriations Clause, and the separation of powers and non-delegation doctrine.

The District of Columbia has banned the sale of elephant ivory and rhino horn in an effort to address trade in objects that contribute to the decline of endangered populations.