Endangered Species Act: Listing and Critical Habitat

Freyfogle, Eric T.; Goble, Dale D.; Wildermuth, Todd A.

doi:10.5822/978-1-61091-915-9_12

Eric T. Freyfogle,
Dale D. Goble &
Todd A. Wildermuth

530 Accesses

Abstract

For many people, the central element of federal wildlife law is the Endangered Species Act of 1973.¹ This claim of legal primacy is likely sound enough if the importance of a law is measured not by the small number of animals protected, but by the considerable controversy the law generates. In its basic structure, the Endangered Species Act is relatively simple to understand. The complications come in its details, which are numerous and sometimes confusing. This chapter and chapter 13 provide an overview of the act and highlight the key issues it raises. The overview necessarily deals with many topics quickly. Moreover, it does not consider the various state statutes—some similar to the federal law, others rather different—that also seek to protect rare species.

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Notes

1.
16 U.S.C. §§ 1531–1544.
2.
16 U.S.C. § 1531(b).
3.
16 U.S.C. § 1531(a)(3).
4.
16 U.S.C. § 1538(a)(1).
5.
16 U.S.C. § 1536(a)(2).
6.
16 U.S.C. § 1536(a)(2).
7.
16 U.S.C. § 1532(3).
8.
16 U.S.C. § 1533(f).
9.
16 U.S.C. § 1536(a)(1).
10.
16 U.S.C. § 1532(16).
11.
Alabama-Tombigbee Rivers Coalition v. Kempthorne, 477 F.3d 1250 (11th Cir. 2007).
12.
61 Fed. Reg. 4722 (Feb. 7, 1996).
13.
61 Fed. Reg. 4725 (Feb. 7, 1996).
14.
Northwest Ecosystem Alliance v. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Serv., 475 F.3d 1136 (9th Cir. 2007).
15.
Ctr. for Biological Diversity v. Zinke, 868 F.3d 1054, 1058 (9th Cir. 2017).
16.
Ctr. for Biological Diversity v. Zinke, 868 F.3d 1060, 1058 (9th Cir. 2017).
17.
16 U.S.C. § 1532(6).
18.
16 U.S.C. § 1532(20).
19.
16 U.S.C. § 1533(b)(1)(A).
20.
16 U.S.C. § 1533(a)(1).
21.
16 U.S.C. § 1533(a)(1)(E).
22.
16 U.S.C. § 1533(a)(1)(D).
23.
16 U.S.C. § 1533(b)(1)(A).
24.
E.g., Desert Survivors v. U.S. Dep’t of the Interior, 321 F. Supp. 3d 1011, 1049–1050 (N.D. Cal. 2018). In WildEarth Guardians v. Salazar, 741 F. Supp. 2d 89, 101 (D.D.C. 2010), the court struck down an agency’s refusal to list the Utah prairie dog as endangered due to a failure to consider the cumulative effects of the threats to the species.
25.
16 U.S.C. § 1533(b)(1)(A).
26.
Ctr. for Biological Diversity v. Zinke, 900 F.3d 1053 (9th Cir. 2018); Greater Yellowstone Coalition, Inc. v. Servheen, 665 F.3d 1015 (9th Cir. 2011).
27.
Desert Survivors v. U.S. Dep’t of the Interior, 321 F. Supp. 3d 1011, 1044–1045 (N.D. Cal. 2018), citing Arizona Cattle Growers’ Ass’n v. Salazar, 606 F.3d 1160, 1163 (9th Cir. 2010); Tucson Herpetological Society v. Salazar, 566 F.3d 870, 878–879 (9th Cir. 2009).
28.
Defenders of Wildlife v. Norton, 258 F.3d 1136 (9th Cir. 2001).
29.
Defenders of Wildlife v. Norton, 258 F.3d 1137 (9th Cir. 2001).
30.
Defenders of Wildlife v. Norton, 258 F.3d 1140-1142 (9th Cir. 2001).
31.
Defenders of Wildlife v. Norton, 258 F.3d 1145 (9th Cir. 2001).
32.
“Final Policy on Interpretation of the Phrase ‘Significant Portion of Its Range’ in the Endangered Species Act’s Definition of Endangered Species and Threatened Species,” 79 Fed. Reg. 37,578 (July 1, 2014).
33.
“Final Policy on Interpretation of the Phrase ‘Significant Portion of Its Range’ in the Endangered Species Act’s Definition of Endangered Species and Threatened Species,” 79 Fed. Reg. 37,609 (July 1, 2014).
34.
“Final Policy on Interpretation of the Phrase ‘Significant Portion of Its Range’ in the Endangered Species Act’s Definition of Endangered Species and Threatened Species,” 79 Fed. Reg. 37,609 (July 1, 2014).
35.
Ctr. for Biological Diversity v. Zinke, 900 F.3d 1053, 1065–1067 (9th Cir. 2018); Humane Soc’y of the United States v. Zinke, 865 F.3d 585, 604 (D.C. Cir. 2017).
36.
Desert Survivors v. U.S. Dep’t of the Interior, 321 F. Supp. 3d 1011, 1070–1074 (N.D. Cal. 2018).
37.
Ctr. for Biological Diversity v. Jewell, 248 F. Supp. 3d 946, 957—958 (D. Ariz. 2017).
38.
16 U.S.C. §§ 1533(a)(1), 1533(b)(1).
39.
16 U.S.C. §§ 1533(a)(1)(D).
40.
16 U.S.C. §§ 1533(a)(1)(E).
41.
16 U.S.C. §§ 1533(b)(1)(A).
42.
“Policy for the Evaluation of Conservation Efforts When Making Listing Decisions,” 68 Fed. Reg. 15,100, 15,100–15,102 (Mar. 28, 2003).
43.
Ctr. for Biological Diversity v. Norton, 254 F.3d 833 (9th Cir. 2001).
44.
68 Fed. Reg. at 15,113.
45.
E.g., Defenders of Wildlife v. Zinke, 849 F.3d 1077 (D.C. Cir. 2017).
46.
Safari Club Int’l v. Salazar, 709 F.3d 1, 16–17 (D.C. Cir. 2013).
47.
Defenders of Wildlife v. Jewell, 815 F.3d 1 (D.C. Cir. 2016).
48.
Desert Survivors v. U.S. Dep’t of the Interior, 321 F. Supp. 3d 1011, 1060–1066 (N.D. Cal. 2018).
49.
16 U.S.C. § 1533(b)(3)(A).
50.
16 U.S.C. § 1533(b)(3)(A).
51.
16 U.S.C. § 1533(b)(3)(A).
52.
16 U.S.C. § 1533(b)(3)(A).
53.
16 U.S.C. § 1533(b)(3)(B).
54.
16 U.S.C. § 1533(b)(6).
55.
50 C.F.R.§ 424.15.
56.
16 U.S.C. § 1533(b)(3)(B)(iii).
57.
16 U.S.C. § 1533(b)(3)(C)(iii).
58.
See Ctr. for Biological Diversity v. Kempthorne, 466 F.3d 1098, 1099, 1103–1104 (9th Cir. 2006).
59.
“Endangered and Threatened Species Listing and Recovery Priority Guidelines,” 48 Fed. Reg. 43,098 (Sept. 21, 1983).
60.
16 U.S.C. § 1533(a)(3)(A).
61.
16 U.S.C. § 1532(5)(A).
62.
16 U.S.C. § 1533(b)(2).
63.
16 U.S.C. § 1533(b)(2).
64.
“Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Revisions to the Regulations for Impact Analyses of Critical Habitat,” 78 Fed. Reg. 53,058, 53,059 (Aug. 28, 2013).
65.
16 U.S.C. § 1533(a)(3).
66.
16 U.S.C. § 1533(b)(6)(C)(i).
67.
Otay Mesa Prop., L.P. v. U.S. Dep’t of the Interior, 646 F.3d 914 (D.C. Cir 2011).
68.
Bear Valley Mut. Water Co. v. Jewell, 790 F.3d 977, 994 (9th Cir. 2015).
69.
Colorado v. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Serv., No. 15–cv–00286–CMA–STV, 2018 WL 4627108 (D. Colo. Sept. 27, 2018).
70.
Weyerhaeuser Co. v. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Serv., 139 S. Ct. 361 (2018).
71.
16 U.S.C. § 1533(b)(2).
72.
16 U.S.C. § 1533(b)(2).
73.
50 C.F.R. § 424.19.
74.
Home Builders Ass’n of N. Cal. v. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Serv., No. S-05-0629, 2007 WL 201248 (E.D. Cal. Jan. 24, 2007).
75.
“Policy Regarding Implementation of Section 4(b)(2) of the Endangered Species Act,” 81 Fed. Reg. 7226 (Feb. 11, 2016).
76.
“Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Revision of the Regulations for Listing Species and Designating Critical Habitat,” 83 Fed. Reg. 35,193, 35,201 (July 25, 2018).
77.
50 C.F.R. § 424.11(d)(1).
78.
83 Fed. Reg. at 35,201.
79.
83 Fed. Reg. at 35,201.
80.
83 Fed. Reg. at 35,201.

Authors

Eric T. Freyfogle
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Dale D. Goble
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Todd A. Wildermuth
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Freyfogle, E., Goble, D.D., Wildermuth, T.A. (2019). Endangered Species Act: Listing and Critical Habitat. In: Wildlife Law. Island Press, Washington, DC. https://doi.org/10.5822/978-1-61091-915-9_12

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.5822/978-1-61091-915-9_12
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