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A Half-Century Of Pacific Salmon Saving Efforts: A Primer On Law, Policy, And Biology, Michael C. Blumm, Daniel J. Rohlf, Adam Eno

Natural Resources Journal

Pacific salmon, the signature species of the Pacific Northwest, have declined across their range for well over a century, due to a myriad of human-caused effects on their habitat and the fish themselves. Restoration efforts—some successful, some halting—began in earnest in the late 20th century, with considerable attention focused on the Columbia Basin, where historically salmon runs were crippled by a large interconnected hydroelectric system of federal and non-federal dams. In the 1980 Northwest Power Act, Congress created an interstate agency, the Northwest Power and Conservation Council, with access to a substantial amount of ratepayer dollars; the agency has chosen …

Maurer Environmental Law Expert Is Lead Author On Science Insights Policy Forum Article, James Owsley Boyd

Keep Up With the Latest News from the Law School (blog)

Environmental champions and conservationists will mark the 50th anniversary of the Endangered Species Act later this month. That is the law requiring federal agencies to use all methods necessary to prevent extinctions and ensure that federal actions not jeopardize the continued existence of species on the brink of disappearing from the face of the Earth.

In the leadup to the December 27th anniversary, several publications have begun examining the Act’s history and impact over five decades.

Science, the world’s third-most influential scholarly journal based on Google Scholar citations, invited experts from around the country to look ahead as well …

A Landmark Environmental Law Looks Ahead, Robert L. Fischman

Articles by Maurer Faculty

In late December 1973, the United States enacted what some would come to call “the pitbull of environmental laws.” In the 50 years since, the formidable regulatory teeth of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) have been credited with considerable successes, obliging agencies to draw upon the best available science to protect species and habitats. Yet human pressures continue to push the planet toward extinctions on a massive scale. With that prospect looming, and with scientific understanding ever changing, Science invited experts to discuss how the ESA has evolved and what its future might hold.

The Role Of Governance In Rewilding The United States To Stem The Biodiversity Crisis, Shelby C. Carlson, John A. Vucetich, L Mark Elbroch, Shelby Perry, Lydia A. Roe, Tom Butler, Jeremy T. Bruskotter

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 2

A critical but underattended feature of the biodiversity crisis is the contraction of geographic range experienced by most studied terrestrial vertebrates. In the United States, the primary policy tool for mitigating the biodiversity crisis is a federal law, the Endangered Species Act (ESA). For the past two decades, the federal agencies that administer the ESA have interpreted the act in a manner that precludes treating this geographic element of the crisis. Therefore, the burden of mitigating the biodiversity crisis largely falls on wildlife agencies within state government, which are obligated to operate on behalf of the interests of their constituents. …

Biological Case Against Downlisting The Whooping Crane And For Improving Implementation Under The Endangered Species Act, Andrew J. Caven, Hillary L. Thompson, David M. Baasch, Barry K. Hartup, Amanda M. Hegg, Stephanie M. Schmidt, Irvin Louque, Craig R. Allen, Carter G. Crouch, Craig A. Davis, Joel G. Jorgensen, Jane E. Austin, Bethany L. Ostrom, Richard D. Beilfuss, George W. Archibald, Anne E. Lacy

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

The Whooping Crane (Grus americana; WHCR) is a large, long-lived bird endemic to North America. The remnant population migrates between Aransas National Wildlife Refuge, USA, and Wood Buffalo National Park, Canada (AWBP), and has recovered from a nadir of 15-16 birds in 1941 to ~540 birds in 2022. Two ongoing reintroduction efforts in Louisiana and the Eastern Flyway together total ~150 birds. Evidence indicates the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) is strongly considering downlisting the species from an endangered to a threatened status under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). We examined the current status of the WHCR through the …

Fischman Serves As Witness In Endangered Species Act Hearing, James Owsley Boyd

Keep Up With the Latest News from the Law School (blog)

An environmental law expert from the Indiana University Maurer School of Law served as an expert witness today (April 18) as part of a congressional hearing on the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Professor Rob Fischman participated in one of three panels convened by the U.S. House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife, and Fisheries as lawmakers consider four Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolutions challenging the implementation of certain aspects of the ESA.

Identifying The Interconnection Between Maine's Lobster Industry And The North Atlantic Right Whale Population In Order To Guide Federal Action, Devon Lammert

Honors College

North Atlantic Right Whales (NARW) are on the verge of going extinct because of human activity. Entanglements in fixed fishing gear and vessel strikes are killing NARW at such a rate that their extinction is inevitable unless human-caused deaths are significantly reduced. The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS, a branch of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) has subjected Maine’s lobster fishery to regulations aimed at protecting whales since 1997 as part of the Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan. Recently proposed changes to the plan would effectively regulate Maine’s lobster industry out of existence. Lobstering is a cultural and …

The U.S. Endangered Species Act And Agency Discretion: The Role Of Public Commenting During The Rulemaking Process, Krista Helmstadter Lyons

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

The most recent International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List classifies 40,084 out of the 142,577 evaluated species as threatened with extinction, with 1,962 of those species identified in the United States. The U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA) was enacted in 1973 to protect and recover threatened and endangered species from extinction. The ESA federal listing process can be lengthy and arduous, taking years for a species to be proposed for listing. During the process the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) seeks comments from the public and peer reviewers on the proposed rule. Previous research debates the …

The Wolf Called Or7: The First In California Since 1924, Jane Braxton Little

Appalachia

No abstract provided.

Under-Enforcement Of Federal Animal Protection Laws: Agencies Abdicating Enforcement Authority, And An Outlier Eleventh Circuit ‘Serious Harm’ Rule, Rebekah Green

Catholic University Law Review

Congress enacted the Endangered Species Act, Animal Welfare Act, and the Marine Mammal Protection Act to protect and preserve endangered and threatened fish and wildlife, animals, and marine mammals. The United States Department of Agriculture (“USDA”) is the primary administrative agency in charge of regulating zoos, wildlife centers, and aquariums, yet fails to consistently enforce the Animal Welfare Act, which this Comment reviews. This means that private animal advocacy agencies are left suing zoos, wildlife centers, and aquariums under the “taking” clause of the Endangered Species Act in order to ensure animal safety and care. While most circuits agree upon …

What Will The “Foreseeable Future” Bring For Climate- Imperiled Species?, Olivia Bauer

Indiana Law Journal

The Endangered Species Act (ESA) is the strongest source of federal protection for species that are at risk of extinction, and the ESA is becoming increasingly important as climate change threatens species and their habitats more than ever. In 2019, the Trump Administration amended the ESA to provide clarity and predictability when making decisions to list a species as threatened or endangered under the ESA. The Administration defined “foreseeable future” in a way that starkly limits how far into the future the listing agencies may look when assessing risks to species. Prior to the 2019 definition of “foreseeable future,” the …

A Brief Strategy For Wildlife, Eric T. Freyfogle

Idaho Law Review

No abstract provided.

Dale Goble As A Builder Of Bridges, J. Michael Scott, Beatrice Van Horne, John A. Wiens

Idaho Law Review

Ecological scientists and legal scholars think and talk in different ways. The “gulf of mutual incomprehension” that results can impede efforts to address shared problems. Dale Goble bridged this gulf by teaming with ecologists to interpret the Endangered Species Act and develop the concept of conservation-reliant species—species that require ongoing, long-term management to address the factors that threaten them. Most imperiled species are conservation reliant and conservation resources are limited. Meeting the long-term needs of conservation-reliant species will require the blending of ecological science, societal context, and law that Dale Goble has long promoted.

Conservation-Reliant Species As A Boundary Object For Interdisciplinary Engagements, Melinda Morgan

Idaho Law Review

No abstract provided.

Dale Goble: A “Significant” Contributor To Endangered Species Act Scholarship, Carmen Thomas Morse

Idaho Law Review

No abstract provided.

Salmon And The Clean Water Act: An Unfinished Agenda, Michael Blumm, Michael Benjamin Smith

Faculty Articles

Salmon are perhaps the quintessential indicator species for water quality, as they require both sufficient quality and quantity to migrate and spawn. Columbia Basin salmon have been listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) for over a quarter-century in large part due to inadequate water flows and poor water quality. A half-century ago, long before the listings, the modern Clean Water Act promised fishable waters. This article explains that this is a promise largely unkept due to implementing agencies’ evasion and disinterest. Recent litigation, however, offers some hope that the statute may yet provide a viable path towards protecting and …

Salmon And The Clean Water Act: An Unfinished Agenda, Michael Blumm, Michael Benjamin Smith

Faculty Articles

Salmon are perhaps the quintessential indicator species for water quality, as they require both sufficient quality and quantity to migrate and spawn. Columbia Basin salmon have been listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) for over a quarter-century in large part due to inadequate water flows and poor water quality. A half-century ago, long before the listings, the modern Clean Water Act promised fishable waters. This article explains that this is a promise largely unkept due to implementing agencies’ evasion and disinterest. Recent litigation, however, offers some hope that the statute may yet provide a viable path towards protecting and …

350 Montana V. Bernhardt, Ryan W. Frank

Public Land & Resources Law Review

In its second trip before the District Court of Montana, the Bull Mountain Mine expansion was again halted, this time due to coal train derailments. The Bull Mountain Mine expansion, previously enjoined in 2015 for violating the National Environmental Policy Act, was revived in 2018 when the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement approved the expansion a second time. Here, the court found the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement did not comply with the National Environmental Policy Act on grounds that the Environmental Assessment failed to properly analyze the risk of train derailments.

National Wildlife Federation V. Secretary Of The United States Department Of Transportation, Holly A. Seymour

Public Land & Resources Law Review

The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals recently ruled in favor of the Department of Transportation in considering whether the district court erred in holding that an agency took a discretionary action when it approved oil spill response plans to a pipeline under the Clean Water Act. The Sixth Circuit reversed the district court’s decision. It held the Department of Transportation does not need to consider the Endangered Species Act and the National Environmental Policy Act requirements in their response plans as long as the Clean Water Act criteria for such plans are met.

Western Bumble Bee: Declines In The Continental United States And Range-Wide Information Gaps, Tabitha A. Graves, William M. Janousek, Sarah M. Gaulke, Amy C. Nicholas, Douglas A. Keinath, Christine M. Bell, Syd Cannings, Richard G. Hatfield, Jennifer M. Heron, Jonathan B. Koch, Helen L. Loffland, Leif L. Richardson, Ashley T. Rohde, Jessica Rykken, James P. Strange, Et Al.

Wildland Resources Student Research

In recent decades, many bumble bee species have declined due to changes in habitat, climate, and pressures from pathogens, pesticides, and introduced species. The western bumble bee (Bombus occidentalis), once common throughout western North America, is a species of concern and will be considered for listing by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). We attempt to improve alignment of data collection and research with USFWS needs to consider redundancy, resiliency, and representation in the upcoming species status assessment. We reviewed existing data and literature on B. occidentalis, highlighting information gaps …

Does Nepa Help Or Harm Esa Critical Habitat Designations? An Assessment Of Over 600 Critical Habitat Rules, John C. Ruple, Michael J. Tanana, Merrill M. Williams

Wallace Stegner Center for Land, Resources, and the Environment publications

This paper tests whether impact analysis pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act delays federal decision making, and whether the NEPA process results in significant changes to the substance of federal decisions. We reviewed 636 rules designating critical habitat for species that are protected by the Endangered Species Act. Because of a circuit court split, some of these rules were subject to NEPA analysis while others were not. In comparing these two groups we found that rules that underwent NEPA analysis were completed more than three months faster than rules that were exempted from NEPA review. We also found that …

Salmon Lessons For The Delta Smelt: Unjustified Reliance On Hatcheries In The Usfws October 2019 Biological Opinion, Paul Stanton Kibel

Publications

Pursuant to the Endangered Species Act, in October 2019 the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) of the Trump Administration issued a new Biological Opinion (BiOp) for coordinated operations of the Central Valley Project and the State Water Project (2019 USFWS BiOp).

The Central Valley Project is operated by the United States Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation), and the State Water Project is operated by the California Department of Water Resources. The Central Valley Project and the State Water Project both divert freshwater from the Sacramento River and San Joaquin River watersheds, and the reduced freshwater flow resulting from these …

Contingent Delisting, Justin R. Pidot

University of Colorado Law Review

No abstract provided.

Feeling The Heat: The Endangered Species Act And Climate Change, Andrew J. N. D. Coffey

Georgia State University Law Review

The following Note discusses the effects that some of these rule changes will have on the Endangered Species Act in the face of uncertain climate change and the science behind it. Part I examines the background of the Act, its current rules, climate change’s impact on the environment, and judicial deference to agency interpretations. Part II analyzes how the current rules further the goals of the Act, how the proposed changes to those rules will add to the confusion surrounding the Act’s standards, and the role climate change studies have in both of those implementations. Part III will propose a …

Let's Talk Protecting Endangered Species, Clifford J. Villa, Ty Bannerman, Will Cavin, Taylor Jones, Ari Biernoff

Faculty Scholarship

The Trump Administration recently changed Endangered Species Act regulations affecting how species are removed from endangered status and streamlining permits for the oil and gas and ranching industries. Environmentalists say the rules weaken protections. How could the new rules change industry and conservation in New Mexico?

The Most Environmentally Beneficial Option: An Analysis On Spower’S Solar Project In Relation To The Endangered Species Act, Victoria Williams

Environmental Studies Senior Seminar Projects

Today, the current impacts of high greenhouse gas emissions due to energy production have been widely discussed in scholarly literature. In 2018, the University of Richmond (UR) announced a goal to match 100% of the campus' electricity demand with solar energy to decrease its carbon footprint. UR partnered with sPower to construct a 500-megawatt solar array in which UR will receive the 20-megawatts worth of energy from the site in Spotsylvania, Virginia. sPower’s solar project engendered various environmental concerns surrounding Fawn Lake and the endangered species found in the proximity of the project. Acknowledging the environmental concerns, the objective of …

Letting Go Of Stability: Resilience And Environmental Law, Robert L. Fischman

Indiana Law Journal

Historic variation in the environment once served as a reliable guide to future behavior. Sustainability promised continuity of ecological and social structures and functions within the known envelope of historic variation. Now climate change and other environmental stressors are tipping systems into behaviors that no longer remain within the confines of precedent. Social-ecological systems are neither persistent nor predicable. Letting go of stability releases us from untenable expectations of steady maintenance of some natural order. Resistance to change will continue to play a role as environmental law suppresses disruptions and buys time. But resistance will eventually yield the stage to …

Substantial Red Wolf Genetic Ancestry Persists In Wild Canids Of Southwestern Louisiana, Jennifer R. Adams, John J. Cox, Lisette P. Waits

Forestry and Natural Resources Faculty Publications

Concerns over red wolf (Canis rufus) extinction caused by hybridization with coyotes (C. latrans) led to the capture and removal of remnant wild wolves from southwestern Louisiana and southeastern Texas, United States, during the 1970s. Here we show that despite decades of unmitigated hybridization, and declaration of endangered red wolves as functionally extinct in the wild, red wolf mitochondrial or nuclear DNA ancestry persists in ∼55% of contemporary wild canids sampled in southwestern Louisiana. Surprisingly, one individual had 78–100% red wolf ancestry, which is within the range for 75% red wolf, red wolf backcross, or putative …

The Genie Is Out Of The De-Extinction Bottle: A Problem In Risk Regulation And Regulatory Gaps, Hope M. Babcock

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Once the province of horror films and fantasy, the idea of recreating extinct life forms is poised to move from science fiction to laboratories and from there to the world at large. While “de-extinction is not something that will take place tomorrow . . . scientists are making major advancements, and eventual success appears inevitable.” Spurred on by the burgeoning field of genetic engineering, it was only a matter of time before scientists turned their attention to recreating extinct life forms, either for the thrill of it or in atonement for the human role in the extinction process.

But science …

The Trump Administration Is Scrapping A Collaborative Sage Grouse Protection Plan To Expand Oil And Gas Drilling, John Freemuth

Public Policy and Administration Faculty Publications and Presentations

The Trump administration has released plans to open up nine million acres of sage grouse habitat in six western states to oil and gas drilling. This initiative dramatically cuts back an elaborate plan developed under the Obama administration to steer energy development away from sage grouse habitat. Predictably, environmentalists oppose it and the energy industry supports it.