Endangered Species Program Challenge Pushed to Appeals Court

Environmentalists are heading to a federal appeals court in a bid to put biologists, not bureaucrats, in charge of reviewing endangered animals and plants.

The Center for Biological Diversity filed a notice of appeal April 10 to challenge a recent court decision upholding the Interior Department’s process for analyzing scientific information related to Endangered Species Act protections.

• The case centers on the agency’s Species Status Assessment program, which synthesizes scientific information about at-risk species and informs subsequent decisions about protections.
• The Center for Biological Diversity says Interior should have consulted the public on its implementing guidelines for the program, which they say leave too much decision-making power to the Fish and Wildlife Service’s regional directors and other leaders instead of scientists.
• The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in February concluded the Center for Biological Diversity lacked standing to bring the case. The center is taking the case to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

The case is Ctr. for Biological Diversity v. Bernhardt, D.C. Cir., No. 1:18-cv-02576, notice of appeal 4/10/20.