Portland, OR — Conservation groups informed the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today that they intend to sue over the agency’s denial of Endangered Species Act protections to the imperiled North Oregon Coast population of red tree voles. The Service’s decision to deny protections in February echoes a 2019 Trump administration denial, which was made despite several previous findings that protection was warranted. North Coast voles are threatened by logging and climate change-fueled wildfires. 

“We need protections for these ridiculously cute red tree voles, who spend virtually their entire lives in the tops of big trees, eating conifer needles,” said Noah Greenwald, endangered species program director at the Center for Biological Diversity. “It’s not rocket science that when these trees are logged or burned, tree voles die. On Oregon’s North Coast, decades of rampant clearcutting have nearly wiped out the vole’s populations.”   

Red tree voles build their nests on complex branch and bole structures found in old growth forest. The North Coast is dominated by a combination of private industrial timberlands and the Tillamook and Clatsop state forests. Decades of rapacious clearcut logging, as well a series of historic fires known as the Tillamook Burn, have eliminated the vast majority of the area’s old forests, along with the red tree voles that once called them home. 

“Red tree voles are a harbinger of the health of our forests; they are suffering the negative impacts of decades of mismanagement,” said Bethany Cotton, conservation director with Cascadia Wildlands. “It’s long past time for the agency tasked with safeguarding imperiled species to do its job and provide these adorable forest dwellers with the protections they need to recover.” 

Remaining North Coast voles are concentrated on federal lands administered by the U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Bureau of Land Management. Although the Northwest Forest Plan helps protect these remaining small and isolated populations, the long-term survival of the voles depends on improving state and private land forest management.  

The state forests are in the process of adopting a habitat conservation plan that will provide some protection to the vole. But the plan will also allow continued logging of thousands of acres of potential vole habitat without any surveys to determine if the species is present. The tree vole currently has no protections on private forests.  

“The red tree vole, and the diverse older forests it inhabits, are vital to the survival of northern spotted owls, wild salmon and countless other species,” said Danielle Moser, wildlife program manager for Oregon Wild. “These forests and wildlife are a critical part of Oregon’s natural heritage, and they should be protected as a legacy for future generations; not destroyed for short-term profit.” 

In response to a 2007 Center petition, the Service determined in 2011 that protection of the North Oregon Coast population of red tree voles was “warranted but precluded.” It then moved the voles to a list of candidate species for a decade until it reversed course and denied protections in 2019. A Center lawsuit over the denial resulted in a 2022 settlement directing the Service to reconsider the decision. 

“Red tree voles (everyone’s favorite tree hamsters) are threatened by logging and wildfire, yet the Fish and Wildlife Service has gone to great lengths to contradict its own findings that this species deserves protection,” said Quinn Read, conservation director at Bird Alliance of Oregon. “Red tree voles don’t have time for bureaucratic delays — the agency must do its job to protect this species and its forest habitat.” 

Today’s notice of intent was sent by the Center for Biological Diversity, Bird Alliance of Oregon, Cascadia Wildlands and Oregon Wild.  

###

Cascadia Wildlands defends and restores Cascadia’s wild ecosystems in the forests, in the courts, and in the streets. 

The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 1.7 million members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places.  

Bird Alliance of Oregon was founded in 1902 and works statewide to advocate for Oregon’s wildlife and wild places, and to inspire all people to love and protect birds, wildlife, and the natural environment upon which life depends.  

The post Press Release: Lawsuit Launched to Protect Oregon’s Red Tree Voles  first appeared on Cascadia Wildlands.

Contacts:
Bethany Cotton, Cascadia Wildlands, (541) 434-1463
Matthew Bishop, Western Environmental Law Center
Larry Campbell, Friends of the Bitterroot
Keith Hammer, Swan View Coalition
Lindsay Larris, WildEarth Guardians
Mike Garrity, Alliance for the Wild Rockies

Today, after more than 20 years of advocacy by wildlife conservation groups, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (the Service) found that wolverines warrant federal protections as a threatened species. Numbering only about 300 in the contiguous U.S., snow-dependent wolverine populations have suffered from climate change, habitat loss, trapping, and other anthropogenic pressures.

The Service prepared a mostly strong, interim Endangered Species Act 4(d) rule, which serves as a road map for the agency to aid in wolverine recovery and grants specific protections and exceptions for the species. The agency will also prepare a wolverine recovery plan and identify protected critical habitat in the future, and may prepare a plan for reintroduction into Colorado as well. Wildlife groups do have concerns about language in that rule allowing incidental wolverine “take” from trapping “conducted in a manner that uses best practices to minimize the potential for capture and mortality of wolverines.” This coalition isn’t sure this is possible for wolverines because they are scavengers and known as “trap junkies.” This coalition of groups will  thus provide feedback on this and other provisions in the interim 4(d) rule during the comment period.

Wildlife conservation groups have twice successfully challenged the Service in federal court for relying on flawed science to deny wolverines Endangered Species Act protections. The court most recently ordered the Service to make a new decision by Nov. 30, 2023, resulting in today’s threatened listing determination.

“I’m glad the Fish and Wildlife Service finally ignored the misplaced policy concerns raised by states like Idaho, Wyoming, and even Montana over the last decade, and made a listing decision based solely on the best available science,” said Matthew Bishop, attorney with the Western Environmental Law Center. “Wolverines can’t wait another year or two for the long-overdue protections they deserve. That said, we are concerned about  the allowances for trapping in wolverine habitat, and we will be taking a closer look at that. We doubt it’s possible to trap without the risk of take. Wolverines—a crucial species for many ecosystems throughout the western U.S.—deserve the fullest protections possible. Given the small population and climate change quickly shrinking the snowy habitat wolverines rely on to survive, time is of the essence.”

“The science and the law could not be more clear: Wolverines deserve Endangered Species Act protections,” said Bethany Cotton, conservation director with Cascadia Wildlands. “We are gratified that at long last, the Fish and Wildlife Service did its job by following the science and affording this iconic climate-impacted species essential safeguards.”

Attorneys from the Western Environmental Law Center represented WildEarth Guardians, Cascadia Wildlands, Alliance for the Wild Rockies, Cottonwood Environmental Law Center, Footloose Montana, Friends of the Bitterroot, Friends of the Wild Swan, George Wuerthner, Helena Hunters and Anglers Association, Native Ecosystems Council, Oregon Wild, Wildlands Network, and the Swan View Coalition on previous litigation.

The groups involved in the court victories leading to this decision will engage in the Service’s process to ensure wolverines benefit from the full protections under the law and make a strong recovery.

“The wolverine has been clawing for survival for far too long,” said Lindsay Larris, wildlife program director with WildEarth Guardians. “This decision is the first step towards the path for the wolverine to recover and reclaim their status as an icon of the Rocky Mountain West.” 

“We appreciate that the Fish and Wildlife Service finally listed wolverines as threatened, but their 4(d) rule, which allows wolverines to be trapped, is a road map for extinction, not recovery,” said Mike Garrity, executive director of the Alliance for the Wild Rockies. “A state district court in Montana ruled in our favor in 2012 that wolverine trapping was illegal because there are so few wolverines. The Fish and Wildlife Service needs to follow the law like all Americans are required to do and come up with a plan to recover wolverines.”

“In the face of climate change, along with greater recreational use of wolverine high-elevation winter habitat, the wolverine deserves immediate listing under the Endangered Species Act,” said ecologist George Wuerthner.

“This decision is huge for Helena Hunters and Anglers Association,” said board member Gary Ingman. “Wolverine are an icon of wilderness and an indicator species of secure wildlife habitat, with benefits to many other species. We have supported this effort from the beginning, recognizing the declining status of wolverine in Montana and the west, starting with our group’s petition to halt wolverine trapping in Montana in 2012. We’ve spent countless hours as volunteers conducting winter surveys of tracks, collecting hair and scat samples for DNA analysis, and coordinating with other researchers to document wolverine status. We’ve worked hard lobbying for protection of wolverine habitat in forest plans and through travel management on public lands. It’s gratifying to see the Fish and Wildlife Service acknowledge the need for additional protection for wolverine in this uncertain and rapidly changing time.”

“Listing wolverine has been as elusive as the animal,” said Larry Campbell of Friends of the Bitterroot. “Thanks to the stamina and focus of citizen conservationists over many years it appears to be finally materializing before it’s too late.”

“A wolverine was recently found dead and skinned on a closed Forest Service road on the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest and I found a dead wolverine on a closed Forest Service road on the Flathead National Forest in 2021,” said Keith Hammer, Chair of the Swan View Coalition. “Wolverine need these Endangered Species Act protections to get more effective road closures and habitat security from the Forest Service and other land management agencies.”

STUNNING photos for media use (PLEASE CREDIT PHOTOGRAPHER KALON BAUGHAN):
Wolverine in the High Country
Wolverine behind tree
Wolverine on hill
Wolverine in Montana
Wolverine – The Survivor

Quote from judge’s order in 2016 decision:
“[T]he Service’s decision against listing the wolverine as threatened under the ESA is arbitrary and capricious. No greater level of certainty is needed to see the writing on the wall for this snow-dependent species standing squarely in the path of global climate change. It has taken us twenty years to get to this point. It is the [Court’s] view that if there is one thing required of the Service under the ESA, it is to take action at the earliest possible, defensible point in time to protect against the loss of biodiversity within our reach as a nation. For the wolverine, that time is now.” Opinion at page 83.

Background:
Wolverines number only about 300 individuals in the contiguous U.S. and are dependent on areas that retain persistent snow into the spring months. Every wolverine den ever detected in the lower 48 States was in snow. Wolverines are built for cold, snowy environments. They wear a double-fur coat and have large snowshoe-like paws with the crampon claws that allow them to travel easily over snow and mountainous terrain. One study found 98% of all wolverine den sites in places with persistent late spring snowpack.

Imperiled by climate change, habitat loss, small population size and trapping, wolverines were first petitioned for Endangered Species Act protections in 2000. The Service found the petition did not contain adequate information to justify a listing. A federal court overturned that decision in 2006. The Service then issued a negative 12-month finding in 2008, which many of the groups on this statement challenged in court, resulting in a settlement that led to a new finding that wolverines should be protected under the Endangered Species Act, but that other priorities precluded the listing at that time. A landmark settlement which resolved the backlog of imperiled species awaiting protections then guaranteed a new finding for wolverines. In February 2013, the Service proposed listing the wolverine as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. In August 2014, however, the Service reversed course and issued a decision not to list the species, contradicting its own expert scientists’ recommendations. In April, 2016 the court overturned the Service’s decision not to list, reinstating wolverines’ status as a candidate species and requiring a new final rule. That court correctly noted that the Endangered Species Act directs the Service to make listing decisions based on the best available science, not the best possible science. In October 2020, the Service again decided not to list. A federal court rejected that decision in 2022, requiring the service to make a new determination by Nov. 30, 2023.

###

The post Press Release: Wolverines listed as “threatened” under Endangered Species Act after 20-year conservation effort first appeared on Cascadia Wildlands.

Contacts:
Nick Cady, Cascadia Wildlands, (541) 434-1463
Sangye Ince-Johannsen, Western Environmental Law Center
George Sexton, KS Wild
Doug Heiken, Oregon Wild

Court: Approval of old-growth timber sales in northern spotted owl habitat violated Endangered Species Act

Late Friday, a judge in the District Court for the District of Oregon ruled that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) justification for Bureau of Land Management (Bureau) timber sales totaling nearly 18,000 acres including in old growth forest violated the Endangered Species Act. The judge ruled against the Service’s claim that old-growth logging in the Poor Windy and Evans Creek timber sales on 15,848 acres of threatened northern spotted owl habitat would not harm the imperiled bird species.

“While we are pleased with this result, it goes to show how emboldened our public land managers have become in pursuing the almighty board-foot, that they are willing to tell the American people and a federal judge that logging thousands of acres of habitat occupied by a threatened species like the northern spotted owl will cause zero ‘harm,’” said Sangye Ince-Johannsen, attorney at the Western Environmental Law Center. “The agencies’ singular focus on extraction over stewardship should concern every Oregonian, but today I’m grateful the law forbids that in some cases.”   

“This ruling should serve as a wake-up call to the BLM,” said George Sexton, conservation director for KS Wild. “It’s time for the BLM to work with stakeholders to thin second-growth timber plantations to reduce fire hazard instead of chasing around controversial old-growth timber sales in the backcountry.”

Judge Aiken also found that the Bureau and the Service illegally failed to consult on the effects of the East Evans Creek and Milepost 97 wildfires that actively burned the timber sale area as the Service concluded its evaluation. The Milepost 97 fire burned 4,706 acres of northern spotted owl habitat and reduced canopy closure below 40% in a narrow but vitally important east-west habitat bridge. 

“These are fire-prone, dry areas, and we opposed this massive logging project because it would increase fire risks and hazards for the surrounding community,” said Nick Cady with Cascadia Wildlands. “The agencies keep pushing logging projects that are putting our communities at risk, and it is past time that fire impacts drive our land management decisions, especially on public lands.”

Finally, Judge Aiken faulted the agencies for failing to analyze the effect of habitat loss resulting from these logging projects on the competitive interactions between the barred and spotted owl. 

Judge Aiken wrote that the Service “was not faced with scientific uncertainty, but unanimity concerning the negative impact of reduced [nesting, roosting, and foraging] habitat and the barred owls’ threat to the spotted owl based on the barred owls’ ability to out-compete for food and shelter,” order at 23. “In offering an explanation counter to the evidence after considering important aspects of the problem, [the Service] ultimately minimized the effect of the action and its conclusions are not supported by the evidence,’” order at 22.

“The agencies need to recognize that when two territorial species are competing for the same rare old-growth habitat, any reduction of habitat from logging will increase the chances of extinction.” said Doug Heiken of Oregon Wild.

Images for media use:
Kelsey Furman of KS Wild in unit 23-09 of the Poor Windy old-growth timber sale (Credit: KS Wild)
Proposed new logging road location through an old-growth forest in the Poor Windy Timber Sale (Credit: KS Wild)
 

###

The post Press Release: Court Rules Logging Project Violates Endangered Species Act first appeared on Cascadia Wildlands.

The post Press Release: Endangered Species Protection Sought for California, Oregon Salamander Threatened by Logging first appeared on Cascadia Wildlands.

PORTLAND, Ore.— Four conservation groups filed a formal notice of intent to sue the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today seeking to strengthen protections for the streaked horned lark, which has lost 98 percent its grassland habitat. The lawsuit will challenge an October 2013 decision by the agency to protect the lark as “threatened” rather than the more protective “endangered” status and to exempt all agriculture, chemical spraying, and airport activities from the prohibitions of the Endangered Species Act regardless of whether they harm the lark.

The post Lawsuit Launched to Protect Northwest Prairie Bird Species first appeared on Cascadia Wildlands.

EUGENE, Ore. — Today, the Western Environmental Law Center (WELC) filed suit against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in federal court under the Endangered Species Act for inadequately protecting Canada lynx habitat, a threatened species, on behalf of WildEarth Guardians, Cascadia Wildlands, Oregon Wild, and Conservation Northwest. 

The post Conservationists Challenge Insufficient Lynx Protection first appeared on Cascadia Wildlands.

MISSOULA, MONT. — Bowing to political pressure, today, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) formally withdrew its proposal to list wolverines under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), despite the species’ small population and serious threats to its continued existence. Only 250 to 300 wolverines call the contiguous U.S. home, living in small populations scattered across the West. Scientists unanimously acknowledge the greatest threat to the species’ survival in the U.S. is habitat loss resulting from climate change.

The post Fish and Wildlife Service Plays Politics With Wolverine Survival first appeared on Cascadia Wildlands.

Gray Wolf Peer Review

The post BREAKING NEWS: Peer Reviewers Find Fault with USFWS Science on Wolf Delisting–comment period reopens first appeared on Cascadia Wildlands.

CONTACT:
Amaroq Weiss, Center for Biological Diversity, 707-779-9613
Jasmine Minbashian, Conservation Northwest, 360-671-9950 x129
Josh Laughlin, Cascadia Wildlands, 541-844-8182
Joseph Vaile, Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center, 541-488-5789
Lauren Richie, California Wolf Center, 443-797-2280
Pamela Flick, Defenders of Wildlife, 916-203-6927
Rob Klavins, Oregon Wild, 503-283-6343 x210

SEATTLE — Demonstrating Americans’ broad opposition to the Obama administration’s plan to strip Endangered Species Act protections from gray wolves, members of the Pacific Wolf Coalition submitted 101,416 comments to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today favoring continued wolf protections. The comments on behalf of the coalition’s members and supporters in the Pacific West join 1 million comments collected nationwide expressing Americans’ strong disapproval of the Fish and Wildlife Service proposal to remove federal protections from gray wolves across most of the continental United States.

“The gray wolf is one of the most iconic creatures of the American landscape and wolves play a vital role in America’s wilderness and natural heritage,” said Pamela Flick, California representative of Defenders of Wildlife. “Californians, Oregonians and Washingtonians want to see healthy wolf populations in the Pacific West. In fact, recent polling clearly demonstrates overwhelming support for efforts to restore wolves to suitable habitat in our region. Removing protections would be ignoring the voices of the majority.”

The strong support for maintaining wolf protections was apparent in recent weeks as hundreds of wolf advocates and allies turned out for each of five public hearings held nationwide. At the only hearing in the Pacific West, Nov. 22 in Sacramento, Calif., more than 400 wolf supporters demanded the Fish and Wildlife Service finish the job it began 40 years ago.

“Gray wolves are just beginning their historic comeback into the Northwest, and they need federal protections maintained at this sensitive time,” said Josh Laughlin, Campaign Director with Cascadia Wildlands. “Politics shouldn’t trump science during this critical recovery period.”

Wolves are just starting to return to the Pacific West region, which includes the western two-thirds of Washington, Oregon and California. This area is home to fewer than 20 known wolves with only three confirmed packs existing in the Cascade Range of Washington and a lone wolf (OR-7) that has traveled between eastern Oregon and northern California. Wolves in the Pacific West region migrated from populations in British Columbia and the northern Rockies.

“Wolf recovery has given hope to Americans who value native wildlife, but remains tenuous on the West Coast,” said Rob Klavins, wildlife advocate with Oregon Wild. “Wolves are almost entirely absent in western Oregon, California and Washington. Especially as they are being killed by the hundreds in the northern Rockies, it’s critical that the Obama administration doesn’t strip wolves of basic protections just as recovery in the Pacific West begins to take hold.”

“The current proposal by the Fish and Wildlife Service to prematurely strip wolves of federal protection would limit recovery opportunities for the Pacific West’s already small population of wolves,” said Lauren Richie, director of California wolf recovery for the California Wolf Center. “Scientists have identified more than 145,000 square miles of suitable habitat across the region, including California, where wolves have yet to permanently return.”

“It’s a powerful statement when nearly 1 million Americans stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the nation’s top wolf experts in their conviction that gray wolves still need federal protections,” said Amaroq Weiss, West Coast wolf organizer with the Center for Biological Diversity. “Wolf recovery on the West Coast is in its infancy, and states where protections have been lifted are hunting and trapping wolves to bare bones numbers.”

To promote gray wolf recovery in the Pacific West and combat misinformation, the Pacific Wolf Coalition has launched its new website — www.pacificwolves.org. The site, which offers easy access to factual information and current wolf news, is part of the coalition’s ongoing work to ensure wolf recovery in the West.

“OR-7’s amazing journey shows us that wolves can recover to the Pacific West, if we give them a chance” said Joseph Vaile, executive director of Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center.

“Americans value native wildlife. Spreading the word on what is happening with wolves here and across the country has never been more important. That is why the Pacific Wolf Coalition is using the end of the public comment period as an opportunity to launch our new website,” said Alison Huyett, coordinator of the Pacific Wolf Coalition. “The website will provide the public with current, reliable information on what is happening with wolves and describe how citizens can become involved in protecting this majestic and important animal.”

– # # # –

The Pacific Wolf Coalition represents 29 wildlife conservation, education and protection organizations in California, Oregon and Washington committed to recovering wolves across the region, and includes the following member groups:

California Wilderness Coalition – California Wolf Center – Cascadia Wildlands – Center for Biological Diversity – Conservation Northwest – Defenders of Wildlife – Endangered Species Coalition – Environmental Protection Information Center – Gifford Pinchot Task Force – Greenfire Productions – Hells Canyon Preservation Council – Humane Society of the U.S. – Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center – Living with Wolves – National Parks Conservation Association – Natural Resources Defense Council – Northeast Oregon Ecosystems – Oregon Sierra Club – Oregon Wild – Predator Defense – Project Coyote – Sierra Club – Sierra Club California – Sierra Club Washington State Chapter – The Larch Company – Western Environmental Law Center – Western Watersheds Project – Wildlands Network – Wolf Haven International

The post Press Release: Over 100,000 in Northwest Oppose Gray Wolf Delisting first appeared on Cascadia Wildlands.

SEATTLE, Wash.— The Pacific Wolf Coalition today called on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to hold multiple public hearings in the three West Coast states on the agency’s proposal to remove gray wolves (Canis lupus) from the endangered species list. Combined, the coalition represents more than 1 million members and supporters in Washington, Oregon and California. The coalition’s appeal comes in response to Fish and Wildlife Service’s announcement earlier this month that it would hold only three public hearings nationwide, including just one in the West Coast (in Sacramento, Oct. 2).

The post Press Release: Conservation Groups Call for Additional Hearings on Gray Wolf Delisting first appeared on Cascadia Wildlands.