Wild at Heart Wild at Heart (No. 11) : Page 3
HOPE FOR ENDANGERED SPECIES Historic Settlement Signed Mark Salvo J. N. STEWART/FLICKR i t’s done. Certified. Perfectum . Signed, sealed and delivered. Judge Emmet Sullivan of the federal district court of Washington, DC, finally approved W ild E arth G uardians ’ species settlement agreement with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on September 9, 2011. The agreement will advance protection for hundreds of imperiled flora and fauna, ranking it among the most important landmarks in the history of the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The settlement resolves 12 G uardians ’ lawsuits that challenged the Service’s failure to list species in a timely fashion under the ESA, and attempts to fix a listing program that hasn’t functioned properly since the Reagan administration. Under the agreement, the agency will make listing decisions by September 2016 for 253 species, all but one of which are formal candidates for protection. The agreement also schedules petition findings, status reviews and critical habitat designations for more than 600 additional species. In return, W ild E arth G uardians consented to dismiss its lawsuits and refrain from suing the agency over missed listing deadlines for the next five years. The heart of the agreement is the Service’s commitment to make listing determinations for 252 candidate species. These are plants and animals that the agency has already determined warrant protection under the ESA. Some are well known, like the iconic sage-grouse. Others are rarely seen, such as the Mt. Charleston blue butterfly. Many candidate species have been reduced to tiny populations confined to small fragments of their historic range. Most of them (150) have been waiting for more than 20 years for listing; some (57) have been waiting for more than 30 years. We expect that the Service will list most, if not all, LAUREN McCAIN SAVE THE DATES FOR THESE WILDEARTH EVENTS NOVEMBER 4 Tree Hugger Bash, Albuquerque, NM NOVEMBER 11 Rio Grande Nature Center, Albuquerque, NM NOVEMBER 17 Festival of the Cranes book event, Socorro, NM The Fish and Wildlife Service will finally review New Mexico meadow jumping mouse for ESA listing in 2013 thanks to W ild E arth G uardians ’ settlement agreement. of the candidate species in our settlement agreement in the next five years. The ESA is critical to protecting imperiled species. Over 99 percent of plants and animals listed under the ESA persist today, while scientists estimate that 227 species would have gone extinct if not for ESA listing. The ESA listing process had bogged down in recent years due to insufficient funding, mismanagement and unfavorable politics, creating a backlog of species listings. W ild E arth G uardians ’ settlement agreement requires the Service to prioritize listing so that imperiled species will finally receive the protection they need. While the settlement represents a major accomplishment in species conservation, it is also just the beginning of a new phase in G uardians ’ species work. We will spend the next five years monitoring the government’s adherence to the agreement, commenting on listing decisions, challenging negative listing determinations, and advocating for recovery plans and critical habitat designations for listed species. We thank you for your continued support in these endeavors. Visit our website: Top Priorities>Endangered Species Act List Keep an eye out for invitations to book events and other gatherings in Arizona, Colorado and Texas Visit our website: Support Us>Events. Jay Tutchton, WG s ’ General Counsel, and Nicole Rosmarino, now director of the Southern Plains Land Trust negotiated the landmark agreement. 3
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