Federal judge backs deal on imperiled species

By Matthew Brown and Matthew Daly Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) -- A federal judge recently approved a pair of sweeping settlements that require the government to consider endangered protections for more than 800 animal and plant species. The order by U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan means the government must act on imperiled species ranging from the northern wolverine and Pacific walrus to dozens of snails, mollusks, butterflies and plants. Some decisions could come by the end of the year and others by 2018. The agreement between the Obama administration and environmental groups resolves more than a dozen lawsuits that challenged the government's handling of roughly 250 so-called "candidate species." Those are animals and plants that scientists say are in dire need of protection but that the government has lacked resources to address. The agreements also cover more than 600 species for which groups had filed legal petitions seeking protections. The government agreed to address those petitions, although there is no guarantee of new protections. Some of the species have languished in bureaucratic limbo for decades. Gary Frazer, assistant director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, said the settlement covers species that face possible extinction without government intervention. "These are species that are in trouble," Frazer said. "Once a species has been listed, with a few exceptions, we have kept them from becoming extinct. This is an important step toward conservation of all these critters." The settlement comes as the government's endangered species program has been under assault on Capitol Hill, where House Republicans submitted a proposed Interior Department budget that have would barred any new listings under the Endangered Species Act. That proposal was defeated in a rare bipartisan vote this summer. Frazer said current spending levels for the endangered program were sufficient to fulfill the settlement, adding that he was hopeful the agency would have enough money in future years to honor commitments made under the agreements with two environmental groups: Arizona-based Center for Biological Diversity and New Mexico-based WildEarth Guardians. Some plants and animals covered under the administration's agreements were first proposed for protection soon after the passage of the Endangered Species Act in 1973. Government officials said the backlog was made worse by lawsuits and legal petitions that distracted wildlife agencies from needed scientific reviews and restoration work. Those legal actions have consumed money and staff time that could be spent on programs such as developing restoration plans for struggling plants and animals, officials said. But WildEarth Guardians executive director John Horning said the lawsuits were prompted by the government's past failures to live up to its obligation to shield species on the brink of devastation. "We are rejoicing here today frankly," Horning said. "I suspect there will be places where largely for political reasons the Fish and Wildlife Service punts or caves, but I expect a lot more good news than bad news on these" species. The settlements require Horning's group and the Center for Biological Diversity to limit their future legal actions against the government. Safari Club International, a hunting group, had attempted to intervene in the case, but Sullivan issued a separate order last week denying the request. Attorneys for the hunting group said they wanted to preserve the rights of its members to hunt animals covered under the agreements, including greater sage grouse and the New England cottontail rabbit. Sullivan wrote in his order that the settlement does not necessarily mean the affected species will get protections and added that the Safari Club could file its own lawsuit against the government if that happens. ---------------- Brown reported from Billings, Mont. Online: Fish and Wildlife Service: www.fws.gov/ Published: Wed, Sep 14, 2011