Groups File Notice of Intent to Sue USFWS and for Failure to Give Yellowstone Bison ESA Protections

[2naSalit]

Today, Western Watersheds Project, Buffalo Field Campaign (BFC) and, Friends of Animals (FoA) took the first step to sue the Dept. of the Interior and U.S. Fish & Wildlife (USFWS) for failing to provide Endangered Species Act (ESA) protections for the distinct population segment of bison in Yellowstone National Park in response to two citizen petitions.

“America’s national mammal, the wild bison, is threatened with extinction because of the actions of the agencies entrusted with protecting them,” said Dan Brister, executive director of Buffalo Field Campaign. “The Department of Interior should base its decisions on the best available science, not political pressure from the livestock industry.”

As set forth in a Notice of Intent to Sue, in issuing a negative 90-day determination on the petitions to list the bison as threatened or endangered, USFWS failed to rely upon the best available science, applied an incorrect legal standard to the petition and ignored the plain language of the ESA, which requires that any species threatened by one or more of five factors shall be designated as endangered or threatened.

More at link...

http://www.thewildlifenews.com/2016/07/12/groups-file-notice-of-intent-to-sue-usfws-and-for-failure-to-give-yellowstone-bison-esa-protections/

[villager]

1. Good. The de-listing of the wolf was one of the too many "eco disgraces" of the current admin. nt

[2naSalit]

2. And it was

the Democrat Senator from my state who illegally submitted the rider that did it into a must pass budget Bill too. I'll never forgive him for that.

I have acquaintances with some of the groups who submitted this ITS and I think it's a long time in coming about. This has been a battle since at least 1987.