A federal judge recently ruled that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) violated the Endangered Species Act when it did not designate critical habitat in California for the Sierra Nevada red fox.
The agency listed a Sierra Nevada distinct population segment as endangered for the species in 2021 but declined to designate any critical habitat.
A judge in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California ruled in mid-September that the species needs additional protected areas to recover. USFWS will be required to draft a new critical habitat determination for the fox.
