Keith R. posted an article on ESA blawg - Jan 22, 2012, 12:03 am
The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) manages and regulates the nation’s fisheries. International trade in fisheries contributes $70 billion annually to our nation's economy, so NMFS, in conjunction with other agencies, plays an important role in ensuring sustainability of our oceans. As Pr...
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Keith R. posted an article on ESA blawg - Jan 21, 2012, 11:41 pm
TWEETS FROM #ESAlawyer (Jan. 2012) Case law: 20 Jan. Complex Casitas case involves ESA, public trust & Cal. H2o law. bit.ly/wZ32i9 Fish don't really need water, do they? U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service 21 Jan. FWS lists 3 pythons, 1 anaconda as invasive species. http://1.usa.gov/xURGdK Maybe they'l...
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Keith R. posted an article on ESA blawg - Jan 21, 2012, 11:29 pm
Recent tweets from #ESAlawyer: Gingrich: Environmental stewardship is everyone’s responsibility... Despite flaws...ESA is essential conservation tool bit.ly/yLAdSY Huntsman: Conservation is conservative. I am not ashamed to be a conservationist. bit.ly/Avxl0c Paul: I can't find endangered speci...
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Keith R. posted an article on ESA blawg - Jan 21, 2012, 11:04 pm
Hi everyone, ESAblawg.com is back. 2011 was challenging; an abundance of Endangered Species Act announcements and litigation, plus my own professional chaos, led to a hiatus.  But 2012 comes with a new professional path, and a new plan for ESA blawg. First, my path: I'm now a law professor and Ass...
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Keith R. posted an article on ESA blawg - Jul 31, 2011, 10:32 pm
Karuk Tribe of California v. U.S. Forest Service, 640 F.3d 979 (9th Cir. 2011). FACTUAL BACKGROUND: The Klamath River (River) runs from Oregon, through California, to the Pacific Ocean. As it winds through Northern California, it crosses through the lands that have been home to the Plaintiff-Appell...
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Keith R. posted an article on ESA blawg - Jul 30, 2011, 11:51 pm
In re: Polar Bear Endangered Species Act Listing and �4(d) Rule Litig., Misc. No. 08-764, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 70172 (D.D.C., June 30, 2011). BACKGROUND: Several lawsuits challenging the Fish and Wildlife Service's (the Service) 2008 decision to list the polar bear as "threatened" under the Enda...
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Keith R. posted an article on ESA blawg - Jul 30, 2011, 11:41 pm
Defenders of Wildlife v. Jackson, CV 09-1814, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 62461 (D.D.C., June 14, 2011). BACKGROUND: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) registered Rozol under the Federal Insecticide Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) on May 13, 2009 and did not consult with FWS before appr...
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Keith R. posted an article on ESA blawg - Jul 30, 2011, 11:30 pm
In re: Oil Spill by the Oil Rig "Deepwater Horizon" in the Gulf of Mexico, MDL 2179, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 63642 (E.D. La., June 16, 2011). This multidistrict litigation consists of hundreds of cases arising from the April 20, 2010 explosion, fire, and capsizing of the Deepwater Horizon drilling un...
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Keith R. posted an article on ESA blawg - Jul 30, 2011, 11:20 pm
Defenders of Wildlife et al. v. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Wildearth Guardians et al. v. U.S. Fish and Wildlife et al., CV 08-280 TUC DCB, CV 08-820 PHX DCB, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 66000 (D. Ariz., June 13, 2011). BACKGROUND: In 1982, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife (FWS) Service issued the Mexican ...
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Keith R. posted an article on ESA blawg - Jul 30, 2011, 11:11 pm
Center for Native Ecosystems v. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, CV 08-cv-2744-WDM-BNB, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 61321 (D. Colo., June 9, 2011). BACKGROUND: The Graham’s penstemon is an herbaceous perennial plant that occurs uniquely on exposed, raw shale knolls and slopes of western Colorado and eas...
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Keith R. posted an article on ESA blawg - Jul 30, 2011, 10:57 pm
While Congress may still bring on financial Armageddon, at least our legislators thought better of passing the "extinction rider."  Instead of ending the funding for the entire Endangered Species Act listing program (see prior ESA blawg), the New York Times today explained that Congress is now cons...
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Keith R. posted an article on ESA blawg - Jul 13, 2011, 8:29 pm
First, they came for the wolf.  Then they came for the dunes sagebrush lizard.  Now they've come for everything else. Legislators are rewriting the Endangered Species Act, one budget bill at a time. A few months ago, Congress delisted the wolf in an appropriations rider. Both ESA blawg and the Ne...
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Keith R. posted an article on ESA blawg - Jun 29, 2011, 7:42 pm
Dear ESA blawg readers, For many families, June marks the end of school for the kids. For me, it marked the end of work. Due to Florida's massive budget cuts and the effects on public servants, I am in the middle of a career change, so my blog suffered a temporary setback. Although the content of ...
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Keith R. posted an article on ESA blawg - Jun 6, 2011, 10:01 pm
76 Fed. Reg. 31592 (Wednesday, June 1, 2011) / Notices DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Docket No. 110516284–1286–01 / RIN 0648–XA097 Endangered and Threatened Wildlife; Notice of 90-Day Finding on a Petition To List Goliath Grouper as Threatened or End...
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Keith R. posted an article on ESA blawg - Jun 3, 2011, 10:08 pm
76 Fed. Reg. 31866 (Thursday, June 2, 2011) / Rules and Regulations DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR / Fish and Wildlife Service 50 CFR Part 17 / Docket No. FWS–R4–ES–2008–0119; 92220–1113–0000–C6 / RIN 1018–AX01 Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Reclassification of the Tul...
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Keith R. posted an article on ESA blawg - May 29, 2011, 2:01 pm
Last week, the U.S. Department of Interior and the U.S. Department of Commerce announced that they have signed a landmark Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Coordination and Collaboration Regarding Outer Continental Shelf Energy Development and Environmental Stewardship (May 19, 2011).  Through t...
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Keith R. posted an article on ESA blawg - May 28, 2011, 9:59 pm
Defenders Of Wildlife v. Bureau Of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation, and Enforcement, et al., Civil Action No. 10–0254–WS–C, 2011 WL 2013977 (S.D. Alabama, May 23, 2011)(William H. Steele, Chief Judge). BACKGROUND. Plaintiff, Defenders of Wildlife (“DOW”), brought this action against a...
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Keith R. posted an article on ESA blawg - May 28, 2011, 8:44 am
Yesterday, NOAA made its announcement of a decision on the Center for Biological Diversity's petition to list the Atlantic bluefin tuna, concluding that listing of the species was not warranted, however, NOAA also noted continued concern, and intends to revisit the decision with new science.  The s...
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Keith R. posted an article on ESA blawg - May 27, 2011, 10:37 am
76 Fed. Reg. 30957 (Friday, May 27, 2011) / Notices DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR / Fish and Wildlife Service FWS–R2–ES–2011–XXXX; 12345–1234–0000–C2 Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Notice of Availability of a Draft Recovery Plan, First Revision, Mount Graham Red Squirre...
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Keith R. posted an article on ESA blawg - May 26, 2011, 3:01 pm
In a press release issued today, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and NOAA Fisheries Service formally announced their joint effort to identify and implement administrative changes to the Endangered Species Act aimed at accelerating recovery of imperiled species, enhancing on-the-ground conservatio...
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Keith R. posted an article on ESA blawg - May 26, 2011, 1:43 pm
76 Fed. Reg. 30758 (Thursday, May 26, 2011) / Rules and Regulations DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR / Fish and Wildlife Service 50 CFR Part 17 / Docket No. FWS–R9–IA–2009–0056; MO 92210–1111F105 B6 / RIN 1018–AW00 Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Listing the Salmon-Crested Co...
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Keith R. posted an article on ESA blawg - May 25, 2011, 9:08 pm
Energy concerns have been at the heart of numerous recent policy debates over the implementation of the Endangered Species Act.  The Department of Interior's  efforts related to the dunes sagebrush lizard continue to generate controversy.  As reported in the Texas Tribune, the Texas House of Repr...
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Keith R. posted an article on ESA blawg - May 25, 2011, 10:04 am
Klamath Irrigation District v. United States,635 F.3d 505 (Fed. Cir. 2011).  In an article by Marten Law, Douglas W. MacDougal and Jessica K. Ferrell summarized the recent decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on the conflicts between the Endangered Species Act and the prope...
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Keith R. posted an article on ESA blawg - May 25, 2011, 8:43 am
76 Fed. Reg. 30082 (Tuesday, May 24, 2011) / Proposed Rules DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Fish and Wildlife Service 50 CFR Part 17 / Docket No. FWS–R2–ES–2011–0017 / MO 92210–0–0008B2 Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 90-Day Finding on a Petition To List the Spot-Tailed Earl...
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Keith R. posted an article on ESA blawg - May 14, 2011, 11:17 am
Maybe, just maybe, there will be a bit less ESA litigation in the future, thanks to a new agreement by WildEarth Guardians to limit its lawsuits, in return for a commitment by the Obama Administration to address candidate species and petitions to list other species.  See news coverage from High Cou...
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Keith R. posted an article on ESA blawg - May 13, 2011, 11:24 pm
76 Fed. Reg. 25590 (Thursday, May 5, 2011) DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Fish and Wildlife Service Reissuance of Final Rule To Identify the Northern Rocky Mountain Population of Gray Wolf as a Distinct Population Segment and To Revise the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife SUMMARY: On April ...
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Keith R. posted an article on ESA blawg - Apr 22, 2011, 12:01 am
Upon spotting a Key Largo woodrat, even an educated local from the Conch Republic might shrug, thinking of prolifically-reproducing mice and rats.  Woodrats, however, are a wholly different genus, facing the threat of extinction.  Yet mice and woodrats are connected, too, because The Mouse is tryi...
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Keith R. posted an article on ESA blawg - Apr 18, 2011, 8:33 pm
The Congressional delisting of the wolf, through a budgetary rider, provoked the expected controversy.  See Boston Herald and MongaBay.  Then again, as some readers have pointed out, but for the problems with wolf management in Wyoming, FWS would have delisted the species anyway.  Indeed, similar...
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Keith R. posted an article on ESA blawg - Apr 15, 2011, 10:21 pm
76 Fed. Reg. 20302 (Tuesday, April 12, 2011) / Proposed Rules DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE  National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 50 CFR Parts 223 and 224 Listing Endangered and Threatened Species; 90-Day Finding on a Petition To List Chinook Salmon AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Servic...
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Keith R. posted an article on ESA blawg - Apr 15, 2011, 10:16 pm
76 Fed. Reg. 20911 (Thursday, April 14, 2011) / Proposed Rules DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Fish and Wildlife Service 50 CFR Part 17 Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 90-Day Finding on a Petition To List the Prairie Chub as Threatened or Endangered AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, I...
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Keith R. posted an article on ESA blawg - Apr 15, 2011, 1:13 pm
The law is intolerant of politics, and politics is intolerant of the law.  When environmental advocates brought down yet another effort by state and federal governments to find a workable compromise to ESA implementation,  ESA blawg echoed the courts and warned that only a settlement would work. S...
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Keith R. posted an article on ESA blawg - Apr 7, 2011, 9:01 pm
WILDEARTH GUARDIANS v. U.S. SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR, No. 4:08–cv–00508–EJL–LMB, 2011 WL 1225558 (D. Idaho, Feb. 11, 2011) Report and Recommendation of Larry M. Boyle, United States Magistrate Judge. INTRODUCTION.  This action is a challenge to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's (“FW...
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Keith R. posted an article on ESA blawg - Apr 6, 2011, 11:28 pm
Conservancy of SW Florida v. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Case 2:10-cv-00106-JES-SPC, Document #100 (M.D.Fla. April 6, 2011) BACKGROUND: In January 2009, the Conservancy of Southwest Florida (Conservancy) filed a petition with the Service under the ESA.  Service regulations, and the Administrativ...
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Keith R. posted an article on ESA blawg - Apr 6, 2011, 10:25 pm
76 Fed. Reg. 18087 (Friday, April 1, 2011) / Rules and Regulations DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR / Fish and Wildlife Service 50 CFR Part 17 / Docket No. FWS–R4–ES–2008–0071; 92220–1113–0000–C6 / RIN 1018—AW95 Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Reclassification of the Okal...
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Keith R. posted an article on ESA blawg - Mar 28, 2011, 10:29 pm
FRIENDS OF BLACKWATER v. SALAZAR, Civ. Action No. 09-2122 (EGS). --- F.Supp.2d ----, 2011 WL 1098964 (D.D.C., March 25, 2011). Link to opinion here. SUMMARY. In 1985, the Virginia Northern Flying Squirrel, Glaucomys sabrinus fuscus, (the “Squirrel”) was listed as an endangered species under the...
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Keith R. posted an article on ESA blawg - Mar 28, 2011, 1:00 am
STEWART & JASPER ORCHARDS v. SALAZAR, No. 10-15192 (9th Cir. Mar. 25, 2011) SUMMARY: In this appeal, we consider whether application of sections 7 and 9 of the Endangered Species Act to the California delta smelt violates the Commerce Clause in the United States Constitution. We conclude that it do...
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Keith R. posted an article on ESA blawg - Mar 27, 2011, 9:55 pm
WILDEARTH GUARDIANS v. UNITED STATES FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY, No. CV 10-863-PHX-MHM,.2011 WL 905656 (D.Ariz., March 15, 2011). Mary H. Murguia, District Judge. BACKGROUND: Pursuant to the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (“NFIA”), 42 U.S.C. �� 4001-4129, Defendant Federal E...
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Keith R. posted an article on ESA blawg - Mar 26, 2011, 10:14 pm
 A recent issue of YES! Magazine features provocative ideas about our animal-human relationships -- omnivore vs. vegan, the emotional lives of animals, legal rights for nature -- and asks whether saving endangered species can ultimately save human lives?  But government leaders obviously have thei...
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Keith R. posted an article on ESA blawg - Mar 26, 2011, 10:06 pm
76 Fed. Reg. 16046 (Tuesday, March 22, 2011) / Proposed Rules DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Fish and Wildlife Service Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Revised Critical Habitat for the Pacific Coast Population of the Western Snowy Plover SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (...
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Keith R. posted an article on ESA blawg - Mar 26, 2011, 10:00 pm
76 Fed. Reg. 15947 (Tuesday, March 22, 2011) / Notices 15947 DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Endangered and Threatened Wildlife; Notice of 90-Day Finding on a Petition to List the Caribbean Electric Ray as Threatened or Endangered Under the Endangered Species...
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Keith R. posted an article on ESA blawg - Mar 16, 2011, 11:31 pm
CENTER FOR BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY v. SALAZAR, Civ. No. 09-1684 (RMC) (D.D.C. Mar. 16, 2011)(Memorandum Opinion, U.S. District Judge Rosemary Collyer) SUMMARY: Did the Secretary of the U.S Department of the Interior appropriate exercise executive discretion when he failed to designate the area contain...
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Keith R. posted an article on ESA blawg - Mar 15, 2011, 9:18 pm
Lawsuits, as usual, dominated recent Endangered Species Act news.  Alaska filed suit challenging the designation by FWS of critical habitat for polar bears. See SitNews.  The Pacific Legal Foundation says critical habitat designations for green sturgeon will cause conflicts too.  See YouTube.  P...
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Keith R. posted an article on ESA blawg - Mar 7, 2011, 11:09 pm
The House of Representatives moves closer each day to large scale cuts in spending on environmental regulation, seeLA Times and the plan will affect implementation of the Endangered Species Act, especially as applied to wolves. See KXLF.  Asserting constitutional rights to bear arms, Tea Party acti...
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Keith R. posted an article on ESA blawg - Mar 7, 2011, 10:54 pm
76 Fed. Reg. 12308 (Monday, March 7, 2011) / Proposed Rules DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 50 CFR Parts 223 and 224 Listing Endangered and Threatened Species: 90-Day Finding on a Petition to List Six Species of Sawfishes as Endangered or Threatened Species...
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Keith R. posted an article on ESA blawg - Mar 5, 2011, 1:07 pm
DOW AGROSCIENCES LLC, v. NATIONAL MARINE FISHERIES SERVICE, No. 09-1968, 2011 WL 711855 (4th Cir., Mar. 2, 2011). The question presented by this appeal is whether a “biological opinion” issued by the National Marine Fisheries Service to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) pursuant to the ...
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Keith R. posted an article on ESA blawg - Mar 5, 2011, 1:02 pm
76 Fed. Reg. 11086 (Tuesday, March 1, 2011) / Rules and Regulations DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Fish and Wildlife Service 50 CFR Part 17 / Docket No. FWS–R4–ES–2010–0003; MO 92210–0–0009–B4 / RIN 1018–AW55 Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Designation of Critical Habit...
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Keith R. posted an article on ESA blawg - Mar 5, 2011, 12:42 pm
76 Fed. Reg. 10310 (Thursday, February 24, 2011) / Proposed Rules DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Fish and Wildlife Service 50 CFR Part 17 / FWS–R8–ES–2010–0078; MO 92210–0–0008 B2 Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 90-Day Finding on a Petition To List the Unsilvered Fritillary...
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Keith R. posted an article on ESA blawg - Mar 5, 2011, 12:27 pm
76 Fed. Reg. 9320 (Thursday, February 17, 2011) / Notices DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Docket No. 100603239–0275–02 / RIN 0648–XW85 Endangered and Threatened Wildlife; 90-Day Finding on a Petition To List Alabama Shad as Threatened or Endangered Und...
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Keith R. posted an article on ESA blawg - Mar 5, 2011, 11:21 am
76 Fed. Reg. 10299 (Thursday, February 24, 2011) / Proposed Rules DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Fish and Wildlife Service 50 CFR Part 17/ Docket No. FWS–R6–ES–2010–0095; MO 92210–0–0008–B2 Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants: 90-Day Finding on a Petition To List the Wild Plai...
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Keith R. posted an article on ESA blawg - Feb 23, 2011, 11:48 pm
Earlier this week, making 2011 look just slightly less controversial for Endangered Species Act practicioners. the U.S. Supreme Court denied two petitions requesting for review of how federal regulators and courts consider the economic impacts of "critical habitat" designations. See New York Times. ...
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