Interior Appeals Ruling Vacating Endangered Species Regulations

The Interior Department is challenging a judge’s March decision vacating several Endangered Species Act regulations that conservationists said weaken protections for imperiled plants and animals.

The Justice Department on May 29 filed a notice of appeal to the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit following a ruling that tossed four US Fish and Wildlife Service ESA regulations and reinstated more protective rules that were previously in place. The Center for Biological Diversity, Sierra Club, and WildEarth Guardians challenged the Trump administration regulations in the US District Court for the Northern District of California.

The rules, finalized in 2019 ...