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"Significant Portion of Its Range": Statutory Interpretation of the ESA
The Endangered Species Act defines an endangered species as one at risk of extinction “throughout all or a significant portion of its range.” The U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) has repeatedly defined “significant portion” to mean an area of the range essential to species persistence. This definition is redundant, and various iterations of the definition have been struck down in the past. At the same time, other proposals to list a species only in a portion of its range fail to satisfy the statutory requirements.
Briggs v. Southwestern Energy Production Co.
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court vacated a lower court ruling that found an energy developer trespassed on neighboring landowners' property by extracting natural gas from their property by way of hydraulic fracturing without permission. The developer argued that the extraction did not amount to trespa...
WildEarth Guardians v. United States Army Corps of Engineers
The Tenth Circuit held that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was not required to consult with FWS about alternative water management policies in the Rio Grande River that would help protect the endangered southwestern willow flycatcher and the Rio Grande silvery minnow. An environmental group argued...
General Land Office of Texas v. United States Department of the Interior
The Fifth Circuit vacated FWS' 2016 decision denying a petition to delist the golden-cheeked warbler, which was listed as an endangered species under the ESA in 1990. Texas' General Land Office argued that the decision violated NEPA because the Service failed to prepare an EIS. The court found that ...