Friends of Blackwater v. Salazar, 772 F. Supp 2d 232 (D.D.C. 2011)
Case Summary:
We represent Friends of Blackwater and several other conservation organizations
in an action challenging the US Fish and Wildlife Service's decision to remove
the West Virginia Northern Flying Squirrel from the protection of the Endangered
Species Act. The squirrel is imperiled by logging operations in West Virginia,
as well as climate change. The Service decided to delist it based on evidence
that the subspecies "persists" in portions of its range – in other words, that the Service
trapped some squirrels in various locations – blatantly disregarding the
Recovery Plan the Service itself wrote, which requires population trend data to
demonstrate recovery.
Plaintiffs: Friends of Blackwater, Wilderness Society, Center for Biological Diversity, Southern Appalachian Forest Coalition, Wild South and Judith Rodd
Court: United States District Court for the District of Columbia
Status:
11/12/09 - Complaint filed
04/13/10 - Administrative record filed by Defendants
06/02/10 - Plaintiffs Move for Summary Judgment
06/30/10 - Defendants file Opposition to Plaintiffs Motion for Summary Judgment and a Cross Motion for Summary Judgment
07/27/10 - Plaintiffs file Opposition to Defedants Motion and a Reply to their Opposition
03/25/2011 - Court grants Summary Judgment for Plaintiffs on all issues