Environmental group Wildearth Guardians filed a lawsuit against the U.S. government for the alleged delays in the listing of almost 70 species under the Endangered Species Act.
The lawsuit filed on Monday is said to have a goal of creating pressure on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) so it can make the necessary determinations promptly. The group said that the agency has already failed to meet the deadlines as set by the species protection law.
One of the species included in the list of "imperiled" creatures awaiting determination is the coastal marten. From being very common in California, the species' population has dropped down to only less than a hundred.
Tierra Curry from the Center for Biological Diversity said that the species deserve protection via the Act, but the wildlife service ignored its own scientific experts and thus committing "the political decision to betray the marten." Curry is the lead author of the petition to protect the species.
USFWS and the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries Service facilitates the Endangered Species Act, which was passed by the Congress in 1973.
Three types of classifications are being employed in all species with recognized perils in its populations. The first one category is endangered, meaning the species are on the verge of totally going extinct throughout all or a notable portion of its range. The second one is threatened or those that are deemed likely to become endangered. Lastly, candidate species are those that USFWS already has enough evidence to place under the Act, but are put on hold due to other priority species that needs to be listed at once.
Since April 2013, 344 species are considered either endangered or threatened in the Southeast region and a total of 389 are listed.
Species may be included in the list based on its biological condition and hazards to existence. In general, USFWS looks at five main factors when evaluating a species for categorization. The factors include:
• Loss or damage of the species' habitat.
• Overuse of the species for recreational, commercial, educational or scientific purposes.
• Predation or disease.
• Insufficient current protection.
• Human-driven or natural forces that disrupt the persistence of the species.
Once USFWS receives a petition for listing, it will have 90 days to determine if the submitted data are sufficient enough to be worthy of a review. During this course, the agency is limited to using existing scientific data to make their evaluation.
In case the wildlife service deems that the petition warrants additional review, the next step is to place it under status review and 12-month finding. "USFWS has one year from the date the substantial petition was received to make a 12-month Finding," the agency website states.
After all the reviews, it will be determined whether a species does not need Federal protection, if it needs protection, but precluded from being listed by other higher priority interventions, or if the species needs Federal protection with then the agency will release recommendations.
Photo: Trevor Bauer | Flickr
