USFWS refused to protect Joshua tree under Endangered Species Act

November 5, 2019

On the heels of the 25th anniversary of Joshua Tree National Park, Guardians took the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to court over its refusal to protect the Joshua tree under the Endangered Species Act.

Guardians petitioned the Service to list the Joshua tree as “threatened” under the Act in 2015. The Service denied the petition in 2019. In its finding, the Service ignored multiple climate models and science showing Joshua trees cannot cope with the effects of climate change—including wildfires (and “California is literally a house on fire right now,” said Guardians’ Lindsay Larris.)

Notably, the Trump administration’s dismantling of the Endangered Species Act earlier this year also precludes the listing of species based on the threat from climate change. Guardians is challenging these new regulations as well, with the case currently pending in the Northern District of California federal court.

Read the press release.

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