Latest news with #U.S.FishandWildlifeService
E&E News
5 hours ago
- Politics
- E&E News
Feds take rare step in withdrawing Texas refuge expansion plan
The Fish and Wildlife Service reversed course Wednesday and withdrew a years-in-the-making plan that allowed for a significant expansion of the Muleshoe National Wildlife Refuge in Texas. Citing President Donald Trump's call for 'unleashing American energy,' the federal agency said it is canceling the 'land protection plan' that authorized expansion of the refuge from its current 6,440 acres to as many as 700,000 acres. 'Consistent with the priorities of the Trump administration, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is committed to reducing regulatory burdens, strengthening partnerships with state and local stakeholders, and ensuring responsible stewardship of taxpayer resources,' Justin Shirley, the principal deputy director of the Fish and Wildlife Service, said in a statement. Advertisement Shirley joined the Trump administration after previously serving as director of the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, an agency he joined in 2002.
USA Today
5 days ago
- USA Today
Hunting show host from Georgia banned for life from hunting in Kansas
A hunting-show host from Georgia has received a lifetime hunting ban in Kansas for illegally killing deer in that state. Matt Jennings, 35, host of 'The Game,' pleaded guilty to two counts of 'illegal taking of a white-tailed deer in interstate commerce,' according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. Jennings, from Bowden, Ga., also admitted to using footage from the hunts on his show. Jennings was sentenced this week to five years probation and banned from hunting or fishing in Kansas for the rest of his life as a result of the case, which originated in 2022. ALSO: Wolf found dead in Rocky Mountain National Park likely killed by cougar On Nov. 11, 2022, Jennings killed an antlered deer near Florence, Kansas, without a valid tag. He then drove the deer to Oklahoma, where he registered the kill using an Oklahoma tag. On Nov. 19, 2022, Jennings killed another antlered deer near Wakeeney, Kansas. He had a valid permit for the area, but violated state law by exceeding the bag-limit of one antlered deer per season. Jennings was ordered to pay $15,000 in restitution to the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks, and a $10,000 fine. He also was ordered to forfeit the antlers from the deer he poached. Additionally, during his probation, Jennings cannot guide, hunt, trap, or fish in Oklahoma, Nebraska, Missouri, Colorado, Iowa, Illinois and Minnesota. The case was investigated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks, with assistance from agencies in other states.
Los Angeles Times
7 days ago
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
House resolution seeks to stop plan to shoot nearly half a million owls
Rep. Troy E. Nehls, a Republican from Texas, backed by 17 co-sponsors from both political parties, introduced a resolution Wednesday that could mark the end of a plan to protect spotted owls in the Pacific Northwest. The plan calls for shooting roughly 450,000 barred owls over 30 years in California, Oregon and Washington, because they are outcompeting spotted owls, pushing them out of their native territory. The spotted owls are in rapid decline. Northern spotted owls are listed as threatened under California and U.S. endangered species laws, and there may be as few as 3,000 left on federal lands. Federal wildlife officials have proposed endangered species protection for two populations of California spotted owls. In a statement, Nehls called the owl-culling plan, approved by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service under the Biden administration, 'a waste of Americans' hard-earned tax dollars.' He estimated it will cost $1.35 billion, based on a $4.5-million contract awarded to the Hoopa Valley Tribe in Northern California last year to hunt about 1,500 barred owls over four years. That is about $3,000 per owl. The bipartisan alliance says killing the owls is also inhumane and unworkable. Co-sponsors of the resolution consist of 11 Republicans and six Democrats, including three California representatives — Josh Harder (D-Tracy), Adam Gray (D-Merced) and Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-Los Angeles), according to Nehls' office. The effort makes use of the Congressional Review Act, a tool sometimes employed by new presidential administrations to reverse rules issued by federal agencies in the final months of prior administrations. In late May, the Government Accountability Office concluded the plan was subject to the act. To stop the owl-culling plan, both chambers of Congress would need to pass a joint resolution by majority vote and President Trump would need to sign it. If successful, the resolution would preclude the Fish and Wildlife Service from pursuing a similar rule, unless explicitly authorized by Congress. The plan already faced setbacks. In May, federal officials canceled three related grants totaling more than $1.1 million, including one study that would have remove barred owls from over 192,000 acres in Mendocino and Sonoma counties. Another would have removed them from the Mendocino National Forest. Some scientists and conservationists say nixing the plan would mean the end for northern spotted owls. The raptor, dark brown with bright white spots, prefers old-growth forests. It became the central symbol of the so-called timber wars in the 1980s and '90s when environmentalists and logging interests fought over the fate of old-growth forests in the Pacific Northwest. Barred owls are slightly larger, more aggressive and less picky when it comes to habitat and food — giving them an advantage in competition for resources. 'If we don't move forward with barred owl removal, it will mean the extinction of the northern spotted owl, and it will likely mean the extinction of the California spotted owl as well,' Tom Wheeler, executive director of the Environmental Protection Information Center, told The Times last week. He pointed to a long-term field experiment that showed spotted owl populations stabilized in areas where barred owls were killed. Barred owls originated in eastern North America and expanded west along with European settlers who planted trees and suppressed fires, biologists believe. Government scientists see barred owls' presence in the Pacific Northwest as invasive, but some argue that it's natural range expansion. 'Protecting spotted owls is an imperative, but assaulting other native wildlife occupying the same forests is not ethical or a practical means of achieving that goal,' said Wayne Pacelle, president of Animal Wellness Action and Center for a Humane Economy, who has helped galvanize opposition to the culling plan.
Los Angeles Times
19-07-2025
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
A plan to shoot 450,000 owls — to save a different owl — could be in jeopardy
An unusual alliance of Republican lawmakers and animal rights advocates, together with others, is creating storm clouds for a plan to protect one threatened owl by killing a more common one. Last August, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service approved a plan to shoot roughly 450,000 barred owls in California, Oregon and Washington over three decades. The barred owls have been out-competing imperiled northern spotted owls in the Pacific Northwest, as well as California spotted owls, pushing them out of their territory. Supporters of the approach — including conservation groups and prominent scientists — believe the cull is necessary to avert disastrous consequences for the spotted owls. But the coalition argues the effort is too expensive, unworkable and inhumane. They're urging the Trump administration to cancel it and lawmakers could pursue a reversal through special congressional action. Last month, The Times has found, federal officials canceled three owl-related grants to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife totaling roughly $1.1 million, including one study that would remove barred owls from over 192,000 acres in Mendocino and Sonoma counties. Two were nixed before federal funding was allocated and never got off the ground, Peter Tira, a spokesperson for the state wildlife agency, said. Another, a collaboration with University of Maryland biologists to better understand barred owl dispersal patterns in western forests, was nearly complete when terminated. 'Under President Donald J. Trump's leadership, we are eliminating wasteful programs, cutting unnecessary costs and ensuring every dollar serves a clear purpose,' a spokesperson for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said in a statement when asked whether the grants had been terminated. Another lever would be for Congress to overturn the owl-kill plan altogether using the Congressional Review Act. The Government Accountability Office concluded in a late-May decision that the plan is subject to that act, sometimes used by new presidential administrations to reverse rules issued by federal agencies in the final months of prior administrations. Both chambers of Congress would need to pass a joint resolution to undo it. In the months leading up to the GAO determination, bipartisan groups of U.S. House members wrote two letters to the secretary of the Interior laying out reasons why the owl-cull plan should not move forward. In total, 19 Republicans and 18 Democrats signed the letters, including seven lawmakers from California — David Valadao (R-Hanford), Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-Los Angeles), Gil Cisneros (D-Covina), Josh Harder (D-Tracy), Linda T. Sánchez (D-Whittier), Jim Costa (D-Fresno) and Adam Gray (D-Merced). Rep. Troy E. Nehls (R-Texas), an ardent Trump supporter, signed the initial letter, and is 'currently exploring other options to end this unnecessary plan, which prioritizes one species of owls over another, and wastes Americans' hard-earned tax dollars,' communications director Emily Matthews said. Kamlager-Dove said also said earlier this year that she objected to killing one species to preserve another. 'And as an animal lover, I cannot support the widespread slaughter of these beautiful creatures,' she said. If a resolution is introduced, passed and signed by President Trump, the plan will be over. The Fish and Wildlife Service would not be allowed to bring forward a similar rule, unless explicitly authorized by Congress. Tom Wheeler, executive director of the Environmental Protection Information Center, which supports reducing the barred owl population, called the specter of the Congressional Review Act 'very scary.' It's 'an intrusion by Congress into areas where we're relying on high agency expertise and scientific understanding,' he said. 'It's vibes versus science.' Wheeler said he believed it was more likely the program would be deprioritized amid budget cuts than eliminated through the Act. 'If we don't move forward with barred owl removal, it will mean the extinction of the northern spotted owl, and it will likely mean the extinction of the California spotted owl as well,' he said. Science is on its side, he said. A long-term field experiment showed that where barred owls were killed, the population of spotted owls stabilized. For animal welfare activist Wayne Pacelle, who has galvanized opposition to the owl-cull plan, it's a hopeful turn of events. 'Even if they had full funding for this, we don't think it could possibly succeed,' said Pacelle, president of Animal Wellness Action and Center for a Humane Economy. The land area where the barred owls need to be controlled is just too vast, he said. And barred owls from elsewhere, he said, will simply fly in and replace those that are felled. As few as 3,000 northern spotted owls are left on federal lands. The brown raptors with white spots are listed as threatened under both the California and federal Endangered Species Act. California spotted owls are also in decline, and federal wildlife officials have proposed endangered species protections for two populations. The two sides of the fierce debate agree that barred and spotted owls compete for nesting sites and food — such as woodrats and northern flying squirrels. Barred owls and spotted owls are similar in appearance and can even interbreed. But barred owls are more aggressive and slightly larger, in addition to being more generalist when it comes to what they'll eat and where they'll live, allowing them to muscle out their fellow raptors. Federal wildlife officials and some conservationists consider barred owls invasive. As Europeans settled the Great Plains, they suppressed fire and planted trees, allowing barred owls to expand westward from their origin in eastern North America, biologists believe. 'I would call this an invasion, and I would call these non-native species,' Wheeler said. On the flip side, some see the owl arrival along the West Coast as natural range expansion. There are also conflicting views of the cost of exterminating so many owls. Opponents estimate it will cost about $1.35 billion, extrapolated from a $4.5-million contract awarded to a Northern California Native American tribe last year to hunt about 1,500 barred owls over four years. A 2024 research paper, however, concluded that barred owl removal in the range of the northern spotted owl would cost from $4.5 million to $12 million per year in its initial stages, and would likely decrease over time. At $12 million a year, the 30-year plan would run $360 million. Pacelle's Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Humane Economy have also sued the Fish and Wildlife Service in U.S. District Court in Washington state over the plan. Friends of Animals, another animal welfare group, filed suit in Oregon. Wheeler's Environmental Protection Information Center has intervened in the suits in defense of the plan, and those cases continue to advance.
UPI
18-07-2025
- Politics
- UPI
Federal judge halts project in Chico, Calif., cites risk to 3 threatened species
1 of 3 | The Butte County meadowfoam is only found in Butte County, Calif. A federal judge stopped a project that would further endanger the flower. Photo by Rick Kuyper/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service July 18 (UPI) -- A federal judge overturned the approval by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers of a mixed-use project in Chico, Calif., after environmentalists claimed it will destroy the natural habitat of threatened species. At issue was the Stonegate Development Project, a 314-acre development. It was to include 423 single-family residential lots, 13.4 acres of multi-family residential land uses, 36.6 acres of commercial land uses, 5.4 acres of storm water facilities, 3.5 acres of park and a 137-acre, open-space preserve, the ruling said. U.S. District Judge Daniel Calabretta gave summary judgment requested by the Center for Biological Diversity and AquAlliance and halted implementation of the project until the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service prepares a legally adequate biological opinion that the development wouldn't jeopardize protected species. Calabretta, a President Joe Biden appointee, wrote that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service issued a Biological Opinion for the project in early 2020. That opinion "acknowledged there would be harm to some ESA-listed species, but that the project would not jeopardize the continued survival and recovery of the listed fairy shrimp, tadpole shrimp and meadowfoam." It also did not analyze impacts on the giant garter snake, he added. "The court finds that federal defendants' failure to consider potential effects on the ESA-listed giant garter snake was based on a faulty assumption that there have been no sightings of the snake within five miles of the project renders its Biological Opinion arbitrary and capricious," Calabretta said. According to the conservation groups, the project also would permanently destroy 9.14 acres of wetlands. But some meadowfoam habitat may be established through mitigation efforts. The Butte County meadowfoam is found nowhere in the world but Butte County, Calif., the Center for Biological Diversity said. The species has only 21 distinct populations remaining, and the project would destroy one population and further encroach on two others. According to the fish and wildlife service, the giant garter snake is one of the largest garter snakes, reaching 63.7 inches long. It has been listed as threatened since 1993 and now only exists in three counties in California. Only about 5% of its historical wetland habitat remains. Vernal pool fairy shrimp are restricted to vernal pools found in California and southern Oregon. They are found in 32 counties across California's Central Valley, central coast and southern California and in Jackson County in southern Oregon, the service said.
