January 15, 2021 By David Murray
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) announced January 12 that the interior least tern has officially been taken off the endangered species list.
When the interior least tern was listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in 1985, there were fewer than 2,000 birds and only a few dozen nesting sites scattered across a once-expansive range that covered America’s Great Plains and Lower Mississippi Valley. Today, the agency says, there are more than 18,000 interior least terns at more than 480 nesting sites in 18 states.
The action is important to waterways interests because the job of protecting nesting sites of the interior least tern was given by Congress to the Corps of Engineers. To protect threatened species like the interior least tern, along with fish species on the list, like the pallid sturgeon, the Corps made changes to waterways structures on the Missouri River and
SAN DIEGO (KUSI) – The Center for Biological Diversity Friday filed a formal notice of its intent to sue the Trump administration over its alleged failure to protect four plant and animal species, including a butterfly currently found only in San Diego County and Baja California.
The organization alleges the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has failed to finalize Endangered Species Act listing determinations for the four species within a required one-year timeline.
Among those are the Hermes copper butterfly found only in San Diego County and Baja California the Sierra Nevada red fox, Bartram’s stonecrop and the Beardless chinchweed.
RENO, Nev. Environmentalists have filed a notice of intent to sue the U.S government to block plans to build up to 11,000 miles of fuel breaks they claim would violate the Endangered Species Act in a misguided effort to slow the advance of wildfires in six Western states.
Interior strips protections for northern spotted owl By Benjamin J. Hulac, CQ-Roll Call
Published: January 13, 2021, 4:00pm
Share: The Interior Department will eliminate nearly 3.5 million acres of Cfucritical habitatCfu established for the owls from federal protection. (Dreamstime/TNS)
WASHINGTON The Interior Department said it will eliminate from federal protection more than 3 million acres in California, Oregon and Washington vital to the northern spotted owl, a species considered endangered under federal law.
In a draft rule published Wednesday as much of the nation was glued to impeachment proceedings, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, a division of Interior, said it was excluding about 3.5 million acres of “critical habitat” established for the owls. Environmental groups warned that the move could spell the extinction of the species and immediately threatened lawsuits to block the action.