After seven years of litigation, a federal California judge struck down regulations meant to undercut the Endangered Species Act (ESA) on March 30.
The first Trump administration had tried to weaken habitat protections for species, so environmental groups sued.
The judge found four of six challenged regulations to be unlawful, saying they contradict the text of the ESA or were “arbitrary and capricious.” Some of these regulations included provisions where federal agencies could propose non-binding plans to protect species from development projects or regulations that could shrink parts of critical habitats.
“This ruling reaffirms what we already know, which is that federal agencies are required to use the best available science when assessing any kind of harm to species,” said Kelsey Yarzab Yates, the acting director of the Sierra Club’s Wyoming Chapter.
Environmental legal group Earthjustice represented the Sierra Club, Center for Biological Diversity and WildEarth Guardians in the case.
Yarzab Yates said the ruling could derail moves from the current Trump administration, which is again trying to dampen critical habitat protections.
“They'll have to look back on this court case as precedent for the future proposal of these rules, which ideally will provide a sort of backstop,” Yarzab Yates said. “But if it doesn't, we'll be prepared, of course, to litigate again.”
The Trump administration has argued it’s using the best available science to inform its moves, while also prioritizing the country’s energy and agriculture industries.
On March 31, a federal ESA committee nicknamed the “God Quad” voted to exempt Gulf of Mexico drilling from the ESA. Environmental advocates say this could put a rare whale further at risk.
This story was produced by the Mountain West News Bureau, a collaboration between Wyoming Public Media, Nevada Public Radio, Boise State Public Radio in Idaho, KUNR in Nevada, KUNC in Northern Colorado, KANW in New Mexico, Colorado Public Radio, KJZZ in Arizona and NPR, with additional support from affiliate newsrooms across the region. Funding for the Mountain West News Bureau is provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and Eric and Wendy Schmidt.
