Suit Seeks Kangaroo Rat Delisting - PLF and Riverside County Farm Bureau sue to force action on kangaroo rat
California Farmer, December 30, 2009 [here]
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service must stop dragging its feet and issue a delisting decision in response to petitions from the Riverside County Farm Bureau to remove the Stephens kangaroo rat (SKR) from listing under the Endangered Species Act.
So argues a lawsuit filed in federal court by attorneys with Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF), representing the Riverside County Farm Bureau. PLF is the nation’s leading legal watchdog for property rights and a balanced approach to environmental regulations.
“For 14 years, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have been disobeying the legal deadline for properly responding to the Riverside County Farm Bureau’s petition to delist the SKR,” says PLF attorney Damien Schiff. “Now we are asking a federal court to order the agency to get off the dime, obey the law, and issue a decision on SKR delisting.”
The Stephens kangaroo rat was added to the Endangered Species Act list in 1988.
The Farm Bureau argues that the information gathered by the FWS to place the SKR on the endangered list significantly overestimated the threats to the SKR’s survival and significantly underestimated habitat available for the SKR.
The Farm Bureau’s first petition to delist the SKR was submitted on May 1, 1995. Under the ESA, the agency had 90 days to determine whether the petition had merit, but the FWS never responded to the Farm Bureau’s petition.
The historic range of the Stephens kangaroo rat includes western Riverside County, southwestern San Bernardino County, and parts of northern and central San Diego County.
The listing has led to significant restrictions on private property. For instance, to protect the SKR, government officials began restricting brush-clearing by farmers and ranchers. In 1993, after these prohibitions were implemented, intense brush fires destroyed several homes.
The complaint and the 1995 delisting petition are available [here]
by Lulu P.
Don’t the brush fires kill the kangaroo rat? We have them inside our home. They are eating hoses coming from the dishwasher causing flooding. They don’t seem to be endangered.
Reply: Yes, and no they are not really endangered. It’s another hoax perpetrated to do you and your neighbors grievous harm. Welcome to the Brave New World.