Latest news with #FishandWildlifeService
E&E News
3 days ago
- General
- E&E News
Critical habitat for two Texas salamanders draws lawsuit
Texas residents are challenging the Fish and Wildlife Service's designation of critical habitat for the Georgetown and Salado salamanders, two threatened species that have been whipsawed by litigation. Previous lawsuits filed by environmentalists pushed the federal agency to protect the two salamanders under the Endangered Species Act and designate 1,315 acres in central Texas as critical habitat. Now, it's city and county officials' turn to seek judicial help in reconsidering a decision they say relied on flimsy science. 'Despite much research, little is known about the history, life cycle, and basic habitat needs of the salamanders, including, but not limited to, the limits of surface and subsurface occupation of habitat, the precise water quality conditions necessary for the species,' attorney Paul Weiland wrote in the federal lawsuit filed in San Antonio. Advertisement Weiland added that the FWS's 'admitted lack of information concerning the basic life history and needs of the salamanders' should have led the agency to a conclusion that critical habitat for the two species was 'not determinable.'
E&E News
6 days ago
- Politics
- E&E News
Legal fight grows over offshore drilling's impact on endangered species
Environmentalists are doubling down on their challenge to the Fish and Wildlife Service's assessments of threatened and endangered species in the industrialized Gulf of Mexico, parts of which the Trump administration has relabeled the Gulf of America. Citing the dangers posed by offshore oil and gas drilling, the nonprofit Center for Biological Diversity on Monday augmented an earlier lawsuit that challenged a 2018 FWS assessment. The revised lawsuit contends that a 2025 update by the agency likewise failed to meet Endangered Species Act standards. 'Federal officials have forgotten the lessons of the Deepwater Horizon disaster, because they've missed obvious threats to some of the Gulf's most vulnerable critters,' Kristen Monsell, the environmental group's oceans legal director, said in a statement. Advertisement Monsell added that the service's 2025 updated assessment 'falls far short of what the law and science demand,' and she called on the FWS to 'redo these assessments with a much larger dose of reality and much less deference to oil and gas interests.'
Yahoo
10-07-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Conservation groups urge release of Mexican wolf pack after delay
Conservation groups across the country are calling for the release of Mexican gray wolf Asha and her family after what federal officials said is a logistical delay. Asha, known as F2754 by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, became somewhat of a local legend after wandering north of Interstate 40 beyond the Mexican Wolf Experimental Population Area in New Mexico twice before her capture in December 2023. Officials said they would release Asha, her mate, Arcadia, and their pups after Asha gave birth. Asha's five pups were born at Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge in May, but the release did not take place as scheduled, according to a news release from the Center for Biological Diversity. The pack's release was originally slated for June 23 to align with elk calving season — which typically occurs late May into June — so Asha could teach her pups how to hunt their native prey, said Greta Anderson, deputy director of the Western Watersheds Project. It was to take place at the biodiverse Ladder Ranch in south-central New Mexico. "If the Fish and Wildlife Service waits any longer, they're missing an optimum window for the wolves to learn how to be wild wolves," Anderson said. The Western Watersheds Project and the Center for Biological Diversity are two of 36 conservation groups that signed a letter sent Tuesday to the Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Department of the Interior, requesting the immediate release of Asha and her family, dubbed the "Caldera Pack." Although Fish and Wildlife told Anderson in an email the delay was due to "logistical reasons," the conservation groups expressed concern in their letter that lobbying efforts by the livestock industry may have spurred it. "We are troubled that wolf recovery may be being stymied for political reasons," the letter reads. Wolf reintroduction and conservation has long been a controversial subject in the West, with farming and ranching groups and many rural conservatives decrying their impact on livestock and game animals. A week-and-a-half ago Arizona Republican Rep. Paul Gosar introduced legislation to remove endangered species protections for the Mexican wolf. The American Farm Bureau Federation, a Washington-based agriculture lobbying group, released a report Monday highlighting the impact of the Mexican wolf population growth on ranch incomes. "For many ranching families, the return of wolves is not just a wildlife management question, it's a daily reality shaped by decisions made in distant urban centers, often by voters and officials who will never have to look into the eyes of a mother cow searching for her calf," the report reads. But conservationists say Mexican wolves like Asha are integral for a diverse ecosystem. "The longer they stay in captivity, the less likely it is that the pack will be successful if and when they are eventually released, and that their genes will ultimately be introgressed into the population at large," said Center for Biological Diversity Senior Conservation Advocate Michael Robinson. The Mexican wolf — nearly eliminated from the Southwest in the 20th century before it was listed as endangered in 1976, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service — now has a population in the wild of at least 286 between New Mexico and Arizona, The New Mexican reported in March. Last month, K-12 students named Asha and Arcadia's pups: Kachina, Aspen, Sage, Kai and Aala. "In a multitude of public polls over the course of decades, large majorities of New Mexico and Arizona residents in both urban and rural areas support recovery of the Mexican wolf," the conservationists' letter reads. "School children named the members of this wolf family and the public is eager for their success."
E&E News
19-06-2025
- Politics
- E&E News
Judge sees ‘troubling' issues in courtroom clash over gray wolf
A Montana-based federal judge sounded a tad skeptical about some of the Fish and Wildlife Service's gray-wolf decision-making Wednesday in a briskly paced and unusually long court hearing. The live-streamed oral argument held in Missoula's federal courthouse zeroed in on whether the agency must reconsider the wolf's Endangered Species Act status. Several times, U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy pushed back against the government's assertions. 'There are some issues that are troubling to me,' Molloy told a Justice Department lawyer after he frequently interrupted her initial argument. Advertisement The FWS has tried to remove the gray wolf from the list of ESA-protected species, but a federal judge in California stopped the nationwide delisting in a separate case that's now before the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
USA Today
17-06-2025
- General
- USA Today
What is a pangolin? Animal could be protected under Endangered Species Act
What is a pangolin? Animal could be protected under Endangered Species Act Show Caption Hide Caption Extinct animals among seized taxidermy haul worth about $31.5 million According to police, the private stuffed animal collection was discovered in a 50,000 square-meter warehouse. Scott L. Hall, USA TODAY Seven species of pangolin could soon be federally protected under the U.S. Endangered Species Act, an animal which officials have called "the world's most heavily trafficked mammal." In an announcement posted June 16 by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, officials said the proposal to include the animals on the list was in response to declining populations caused by "illegal wildlife tracking, habitat loss, and poor genetic health." On the same day, the service posted a Federal Register notice proposing the addition of the seven species of pangolin to the list. "After reviewing the best available scientific and commercial information, the Service is proposing to list seven species of pangolin as endangered species under the Endangered Species Act," the Fish and Wildlife Service said in the announcement. Here's what you need to know. What is a pangolin? The pangolin is a peculiar-looking creature that looks like the cross between an anteater and an armadillo. It's also the only mammal on Earth covered in scales from head to tail. But the scales that make it so famous also make the demand for it even higher. According to the Fish and Wildlife Service, pangolins are "heavily targeted" by poachers and criminal organizations. "The proceeds from the illicit sale of pangolins and other imperiled species often fund serious crimes, including drug and arms trafficking. This proposed listing reaffirms the Service's commitment to protecting these magnificent species and ensures the United States does not contribute to their continued decline," the announcement said. Where are pangolins found? According to Save Pangolins, the animals can be found across Asia and Africa. When threatened by predators, the pangolins curl into a ball, protecting themselves with their tough scales. The number of pangolins left in the world is currently unknown, as the animals are shy and nocturnal, making the counting of them very difficult. Their shyness has also made determining their life span difficult, as it is currently unknown how long they live in the wild, but some have lived up to two decades in captivity. Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach him at and follow him on X @fern_cerv_.
