Latest news with #USFWS
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Rare Nevada fish 'staring down the barrel of extinction' could earn endangered species protections
An olive-colored minnow only found in southwestern Nevada is one step closer to life-saving federal protection after years of advocacy. The Fish Lake Valley Tui Chub, which gets its name from its threatened habitat in Esmeralda County, Nevada, is an olive-brass fish only found in a single spring and a pond outside its native range, according to the Center for Biological Diversity. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) says the fish species' historic range included other bodies of water near Dyer, Nevada, but other populations have all expired. Changes in the Earth's climate dried up the Fish Lake Valley Tui Chub's larger habitat more than 500,000 years ago, isolating them to a small spring on the valley floor. Cut The Head Off This Invasive Python-looking Fish If You See It, Conservationists Say On Wednesday, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service filed a petition to list the fish as endangered under the Endangered Species Act of 1973. This milestone is years in the making. In March 2021, the Center for Biological Diversity petitioned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to list the fish as an endangered species. A 2022 study by the USFWS found the petition warranted further action. According to the USFWS petition, experts have determined that the small fish is threatened by agricultural production and land management practices, the effects of climate change on its habitat, and competition with invasive species. Great Basin Director for the Center for Biological Diversity Patrick Donnelly said in a statement that the rare fish could become extinct because of groundwater pumping for agriculture, including alfalfa for livestock. Arctic Sets Record For Smallest Winter Ice Coverage "The Fish Lake Valley Tui Chub is staring down the barrel of extinction, and only the Endangered Species Act can save it now," Donnelly said. "We're going to keep fighting to save it and the remarkable biodiversity of Fish Lake Valley." The Center for Biological Diversity said impending mining and energy projects in the area will only worsen matters. The center filed a lawsuit to stop the Rhyolite Ridge lithium mine from moving forward because of its threats to biodiversity. "The Fish Lake Valley Tui Chub is barely clinging to existence. I'm thrilled these fish are poised to get the life-saving protections they urgently need," said Donnelly. "Nevada has already lost so many native fish species. We can't afford any more extinction."The petition from the USFWS opens a 60-day comment period before further article source: Rare Nevada fish 'staring down the barrel of extinction' could earn endangered species protections
CBS News
16-05-2025
- General
- CBS News
Colorado Parks and Wildlife confirms death of female gray wolf in northwest Colorado
On Friday, Colorado Parks and Wildlife confirmed the death of the fourth gray wolf this year. Officials said the female gray wolf, 2512-BC, died in northwest Colorado on May 15. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is investigating her death. She was part of a group taken from British Columbia to Colorado. Wolf 2512-BC is the fourth Colorado wolf to pass away this year, including a male wolf that died in Wyoming and a female that died in Rocky Mountain National Park. CPW said the final determination of her cause of death will be made once a necropsy and investigation have been completed.
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Judge rules against decision not to protect Joshua tree
A Los Angeles federal judge has ruled that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's decision not to provide Endangered Species Act protections for the imperiled Joshua tree is unlawful, according to court papers obtained on Thursday. U.S. District Judge Wesley L. Hsu ruled Monday that the USFWS decision to not provide ESA protections for the Joshua tree is illegal and sidesteps climate science. WildEarth Guardians sued the USFWS twice in Los Angeles to secure federal projections for the Joshua tree after initially petitioning to list the Joshua tree as 'threatened' in 2015. The two species of Joshua tree, Yucca brevifolia and Yucca jaegeriana, face severe climate impacts that will cause the desert icon to become functionally extinct by the end of the century without immediate and robust action, according to the environmental organization. 'The agency's decision, for a second time, reflected a massive disconnect from what the best available science shows — that climate change and wildfire will prevent Joshua trees from successfully recruiting new generations over the coming years,' Jennifer Schwartz, managing attorney for WildEarth Guardians, said in a statement. 'I feel hopeful that a federal court recognizes the need to actually assess these risks to the Joshua tree's survival. Now it's up to the service to actually follow the court's order.' Hsu agreed with conservationists on all claims, determining 'that the service has not provided a rational explanation as to why climate change alone does not threaten the species to become threatened or endangered.' WildEarth Guardians said the USFWS' analysis failed to adequately take into account climate change modeling that clearly shows Joshua trees run the risk of extinction due to increasing temperature, drought and wildfire. The court order states that the USFWS 'provides no explanation as to why it did not use current trends and standards regarding greenhouse gas emissions as a basis for its decision, when this data currently is available.' WildEarth Guardians has been fighting for federal protections for the Joshua tree since the organization's initial petition to list the species as 'threatened' under the ESA in September 2015, citing the severe impacts of climate change on the native succulent. In August 2019, the USFWS first denied listing protection for what it clarified were actually two distinct species of Joshua tree — eastern Joshua tree (Yucca jaegeriana) and western Joshua tree (Yucca brevifolia) — because it believed neither species was likely to face a danger of extinction in the next 80 years, according to WildEarth Guardians. This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Joshua tree protection ruling
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Hunting could expand at Eufaula Wildlife Refuge
DOTHAN, Ala (WDHN) — Hunting opportunities could expand at Eufaula National Wildlife Refuge, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is asking for your comments! The USFWS proposed to include the hunting of mourning doves, Eurasian-collared doves, ducks, geese, gray squirrels, white-tailed deer, and feral hogs at the refuge. Waterfowl hunting opportunities will be spaced-blind and assigned through a lottery system. Hunters wishing to participate in the waterfowl hunts must submit a Waterfowl Lottery Application. Under this proposal, a youth hunter (10-15) must be under the supervision of a licensed adult hunter. Only one adult can legally supervise no ore than 2 youth hunters at a time. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is asking for public comments on the proposals until June 30. Public comments can be submitted here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump administration wants to remove protections for threatened Kansas bird
The plight of the lesser prairie chicken, which roams in Kansas grasslands, wages on as the Trump Administration attempts to strip it of its protected species status. (Dave Kendall) TOPEKA — The Trump administration is attempting to strike protections for the lesser prairie chicken, a bird that has teetered between threatened and endangered for decades. The administration argued in a May 7 court filing that a Biden-era ruling granting protections for the lesser prairie chicken contained mistakes when the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service identified two distinct populations of the bird. The filing alleges the USFWS improperly applied policy when determining whether the lesser prairie chicken should be listed under the Endangered Species Act, which 'amounts to a serious substantive defect because it calls into question the very foundation of the listing decision.' The lesser prairie chicken forages on the grasslands and brush of southeastern Colorado, southwestern Kansas, eastern New Mexico, western Oklahoma and the panhandle and south plains of Texas. Those lands are also viewed as prime cattle-grazing and oil and gas drilling areas. In the bird's southern range in New Mexico and the southwest Texas Panhandle, it is listed as endangered. In it's northern range of Kansas, Oklahoma and the northeast Texas panhandle, it's threatened, a lesser listing but still affording some protections. Experts and politicians have argued that the lesser prairie chicken serves as an indicator species, signaling the health of grasslands and prairies. In 2023, then-President Joe Biden vetoed legislation from Kansas Republican U.S. Sens. Roger Marshall and Jerry Moran that would reverse its status as a threatened species. Again in 2025, U.S. Rep. Tracey Mann and Marshall introduced legislation in each chamber to delist the lesser prairie chicken and prevent any future efforts to relist the species. Neither bill has progressed. The Center for Biological Diversity, which has been advocating for protections for 30 years, said the lesser prairie chicken has been left in jeopardy. The center renewed an attempt to intervene in the case and opposed the Trump administration's move. 'The Trump administration is again capitulating to the fossil fuel industry, ignoring sound science and common sense, and dooming an imperiled species to extinction,' said Jason Rylander, legal director at the center's Climate Law Institute. The Endangered Species Act, passed and enacted in 1973, restricts certain uses, including drilling and ranching, on lands that are habitats to endangered or threatened species. The Trump administration's court filing argued that the lesser prairie chicken's habitat is adequately protected without the listing. It is served by 'at least sixteen different conservation efforts and programs administered by state, federal, and private entities,' the filing said. Rylander said there's 'no question' the lesser prairie chicken is imperiled. 'Removing Endangered Species Act protections is a purely political act that won't stand up in court,' he said. 'We won't let this administration drive species to extinction so fossil fuel billionaires and their shareholders can make a buck.'
