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The Fish and Wildlife Services’ failure to issue a substantial information finding on the Gunnison’s Prairie Dog listing petition
The Endangered Species Act, 16 U.S.C. §§ 1531-1544 (ESA) seeks “to provide a program for the conservation of . . . endangered species and threatened species.” 16 U.S.C. § 1531(b). An essential component of this program is known as the listing process, as the protections contained in the ESA apply only to those species that are listed as endangered or threatened. To achieve its goals, the ESA provides that interested persons can begin the listing process by filing a petition with FWS to list a species or a distinct population segment of a species as endangered or threatened. The petition process is not the only means by which a species can be listed under the ESA. On its own initiative, FWS can undertake a study of whether a species should be listed as endangered or threatened.
The US Fish and Wildlife Service routinely fails to issue substantial information findings on ESA listing petitions, including ESA listing petitions filed by Plaintiffs, even after the 12-month finding deadline has passed.
Since the enactment of the ESA in 1973, 108 U.S. species are known to have become extinct. Twenty-four (24) of those species have gone extinct while waiting on the federal candidate species list, or similar lists. In all, ESA listing delays have contributed to the irreversible loss of eighty-three (83) species.