Center for Biological Diversity
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Endangered Earth
No. 1179, Feb. 9, 2023
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Suit Launched to Speed Up Help for 15 Species

The Center for Biological Diversity filed notice Tuesday that we’ll sue the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for delaying desperately needed protection for 15 animals and plants — from tiny cactus ferruginous pygmy owls in the Sonoran Desert to four populations of yellow-legged frogs in California and a beautiful aquatic moss in Texas.
“Every day Endangered Species Act protection is delayed, these species are at greater risk of extinction,” said Center attorney Camila Cossío. “The Mt. Rainier white-tailed ptarmigan is just one example of a species that’s been waiting for over 10 years.”
Also at stake are Peñasco least chipmunks, bog buck moths, tall western penstemons, six Texas freshwater mussels, and critical habitat for rare forest carnivores called Humboldt martens.

Grizzly Protection at Risk

Following petitions by Montana and Wyoming, the Fish and Wildlife Service just announced it may remove Endangered Species Act protections from grizzly bears in the Northern Continental Divide and Greater Yellowstone ecosystems.
Grizzlies only occupy about 6% of their historical range in the lower 48 states. Stripping their Endangered Species Act protection now would pave the way for cruel, aggressive trophy hunting long before their vulnerable populations can handle it.
“Rushing the removal of federal safeguards threatens to undo decades of work to recover these bears,” said the Center’s Andrea Zaccardi.

Help us fight for grizzlies and other species with a gift to our Saving Life on Earth Fund .

Good Riddance to Ducey’s Junk Wall

Following weeks of protests, legal work by the Center and allies, and more than 1,000 comments from our supporters, last week saw the removal of the final shipping container in the rogue border wall built by former Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey.
This ugly symbol of anti-immigrant bigotry sliced through a vital wildlife corridor in a national forest, including habitat for endangered jaguars and ocelots.
“This is perhaps the only major border wall to be removed globally since the Berlin Wall,” said the Center’s Russ McSpadden. Unfortunately, the public is still stuck paying millions for Ducey’s destructive stunt.
A coyote caught on camera by our friends at the Sky Island Alliance perfectly illustrates our feelings on the matter.
Watch the video on YouTube or Twitter.

EPA Sued Over Ballast That’s Hurting Ocean Species
This week the Center and allies sued the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for failing to protect U.S. waterways and marine ecosystems from dangerous ship pollution.
Many ships take on water — called “ballast water” — to add weight. When they dump it later, it can contaminate the ocean and quickly spread invasive species and diseases that threaten human health, along with endangered wildlife like elkhorn and staghorn corals.
“The EPA has delayed for years as ships from all over the world dump disease-causing pathogens and invasive organisms that harm our waters and communities,” said the Center’s Oceans Director Miyoko Sakashita. “We won’t stand for it.”

40% of U.S. Wildlife and Ecosystems Are Imperiled

A 50-year study just revealed that 40% of animals, 34% of plants, and 40% of ecosystems across the United States are at risk. It’s the most comprehensive study ever done on the status of U.S. ecosystems.
The study found that 51% of grasslands and 40% of forests and wetlands could soon collapse — yet only 12% of U.S. lands are protected. Nearly half of cactus species are vulnerable, as is 1 in 5 tree species.
“It’s suicidal to pretend business as usual is more important than safeguarding the natural world we all depend on,” said Center Senior Scientist Tierra Curry. “But the good news is, we can work together to stop this. Extinction is a choice.”

Suit Aims to Save Florida Species From Development

The Center and allies sued the National Park Service Wednesday to make it protect endangered Florida bonneted bats, Miami tiger beetles, and Bartram’s scrub-hairstreak butterflies from a destructive water park and retail development in South Florida.
When the Park Service OK’d a deal paving the way for construction, it shirked its legal duty to work with the Fish and Wildlife Service to make sure the project wouldn’t hurt endangered species.
“Thoughtless development has driven so many rare Florida creatures to the brink of extinction,” said Elise Bennett, the Center’s Florida director. “And now we have to take the Park Service to court to save one of the few precious places that are still wild in urban Miami-Dade.”

Revelator : Saving California Condors From Lead

Biologists just released four captive-bred California condors into the wild. They join four others who were released last spring — the first of these critically endangered birds to soar above California’s towering coastal redwoods in more than a century.
Check out The Revelator to learn how people are saving this new flock from an old threat: lead poisoning.

And if you haven’t yet, sign up for the free e-newsletter bringing you each week’s best environmental articles and essays.

That’s Wild: Dance of the Greater Sage Grouse

Every spring across sagebrush country in the western United States, the greater sage grouse performs its unique courtship ritual. To attract females, the male bird finds a large open space where he can really stretch out. Then he dances: popping, locking, hooting, head-bobbing, tail-feather-fanning, wing-spreading, and, of course, bouncing his “gular sacs” (aka inflatable neck pouches).

Need some inspiration for dating this Valentine’s Day? Check out our video of the male greater sage grouse doing what he does so well on our YouTube or the Center’s new TikTok account.
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Center for Biological Diversity
P.O. Box 710
Tucson, AZ 85702
United States