Endangered Species Settlement Stayed

A federal district judge in Washington has stayed the implementation of a settlement agreement between a conservation group, Wild Earth Guardians, and the government over the failure to issue final decisions for 251 species stuck on a pending list for decades. However, the Center for Biological Diversity headquartered in Tucson, AZ asked the judge to stay the agreement because in their opinion it is too weak and ultimately unenforceable. The Center is concerned that under the agreement the US Fish & Wildlife Service could unilaterally withdraw its commitment to list a species, exclude some imperiled species from protection, and limit the protection given to other species in the future. 87% of the petitions to list were filed or litigated by the Center so it argued their approval of the agreement was necessary. Wild Earth Guardians has filed the most petitions to list in the last four years. In return for final decisions on the species in legal limbo by 2016 the Guardians agreed to limit its litigation and refrain from suing the Department of Interior for the next six years. The judge stayed approval of the agreement and ordered further mediation until June 20th.