Endangered Species

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The gray wolf is an amazingly adaptable creature that can live in many different habitats. It is a social animal which often forms packs that stick together.

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This article explores the roots of the animal rights movement. It also looks at personhood, standing, and other barriers to animal rights in the legal world.

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This Chapter provides a review of the political, legislative and judicial trends which have shaped the formation of the "tangle" of federal wildlife and related environmental laws, from the early 1900s to the present.

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This article provides a short introduction to the matrix of government interests in controlling wildlife in the United States. The powers of state and federal government are considered along with limitations on the exercise of the authority.

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This paper illustrates the need and importance for this shift in understanding, and suggest corresponding revisions to the ESA. It gives an overview of the recovery plan provisions and delisting process of the ESA. The paper gives an overview of a recently delisted species, the Western Great Lakes Distinct Population Segment (“WGL DPS”) of the gray wolf, which serves to illustrate in detail the more general analysis of ESA implementation. The paper also provides a framework for the importance behind identifying policy decisions and having greater accountability and consistency in decision-making.

Summary:

The Delhi Sands Flower Loving Fly obtained endangered species status on the day a county planned to construct a hospital on the fly's dwindling habitat. Since the Endangered Species Act (ESA) prohibits the taking of any endangered species and courts have interpreted "taking" to include “significant habitat modification or degradation where it actually kills or injures” a member of the species, the county made concessions to comply with the ESA. However, when the county learned that the fly stood in the way of its plans to redesign an intersection, the county filed suit challenging the application of the ESA to the fly's habitat; many others who also wished to build on the fly's habitat joined in the suit as well. Using United States v. Lopez, 514 U.S. 549 (1995), these groups hoped the district court would find that the ESA, under the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution, could not constitutionally protect the fly's habitat. The district court, however, upheld the act's application. In the appeal of the district case, known as the National Ass'n of Home Builders v. Babbitt, 130 F.3d 1041 (D.C. Cir. 1997), the appellate court upheld the lower court's decision, but offered three different explanations why the ESA could or could not constitutionally require protection of the fly. In this article, John Copeland Nagle investigates these three strikingly diverse explanations. In doing so, Nagle also investigates whether Congress has the power to protect something that is very rare, very valuable, and seemingly entirely uninvolved with commerce between the states.

Summary:

In “Playing Noah,” John Copeland Nagle investigates the difficulty of protecting all endangered species through the implementation of the Endangered Species Act. In doing so, Nagle looks at utilitarian arguments and concludes that these arguments do not justify treating all species equally. Instead, Nagle concludes that religious, moral, or ethical arguments provide a better justification. Specifically, Nagle contends that the book of Genesis provides a compelling case for protecting all endangered species.

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Mr. Edwards discusses the recent decision to conduct a one-time sale of ivory from Zimbabwe, Namibia, and Botswana to Japan under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). In theory, limited trade in African elephant ivory is possible and even advantageous for the various actors. However, in practice, the management controls on the supply side in Africa and the demand side in Japan are insufficient to prevent poaching and the eventual decimation of the species. This one-time sale should act as a warning to prevent further sales without a significant revamping of the control mechanisms.

Summary:

This article argues that the intent of the ESA would be realized if the standing requirements under the act were expanded to include an animal-suit provision in addition to the citizen-suit provision. The article begins with a brief discussion of the legislative history and the statutory requirements of the ESA, and then delineates the doctrine of standing generally. It concludes that the enactment of an animal-suit provision in the ESA would be consistent with the intent behind the ESA, would be a valid exercise of congressional power, would satisfy the principles inherent in the Court's approach to standing, and could be comfortably realized through next friend representation of qualified animal plaintiffs.

Summary:

This Article investigates how the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Marine Fisheries Service, and the courts are implementing the Endangered Species Act's prohibition on “adverse modification” of “critical habitat.” That prohibition appears to be one of environmental law's most ambitious mandates, but its actual meaning and effect are contested. Using a database of over 4,000 “biological opinions,” interviews with agency staff, and a review of judicial decisions considering the adverse modification prohibition, this Article assesses the extent to which the Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Marine Fisheries Service, and the courts are relying on the adverse modification prohibition to provide habitat protection.