A federal judge has ruled the Trump administration unlawfully withdrew its proposal to list the bi-state sage-grouse as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.
The bi-state sage-grouse resides in areas of the California-Nevada border and was originally proposed as threatened in 2013. In 2015, the consideration was abandoned, but in 2018, a federal court ordered the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to reevaluate the bird’s listing. The bird was once again proposed for protection, but the Trump administration withdrew the proposal in March 2020.
On May 16, U.S. District Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley ruled the 2020 withdrawal was arbitrary and capricious, vacated the withdrawal and remanded the matter back to the USFWS to issue a new final listing decision.
“By simply dismissing the relevant data, rather than ‘disagreeing with or discrediting’ it, the Service ignored the best available data,” Corley said in her 31-page order.
Corley said the USFWS cherry-picked data to show the bi-state sage-grouse was stable, and there wasn’t enough evidence to support the conclusion that the sage grouse population was above the population threshold for viability.
The bi-state sage-grouse population is estimated at 3,305 birds, while the minimum viable population number is 5,000 birds. The USFWS evaluates population numbers by monitoring six population management units.
In the 2020 withdrawal, the USFWS said the bi-state sage-grouse population has “fluctuated over the past 40 years (both increased and decreased), but over the entire timeframe has remained relatively stable,” according to the suit.
Conservation groups celebrated the judge’s ruling. “These unique sage grouse populations in the Eastern Sierra are heading toward extinction from numerous threats, including livestock grazing, cheatgrass invasions, raven predation and extreme droughts,” said Laura Cunningham, California director at Western Watersheds Project. “They deserve a chance to thrive with legal protection.”
Lawsuit plaintiffs included Desert Survivors, the Center for Biological Diversity, Western Watersheds Project and WildEarth Guardians.— Anna Miller, WLJ managing editor
