Description: Lawsuit challenging the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's determination that designation of critical habitat for the rusty patch bumble bee would not be prudent and seeking to compel designation of critical habitat for the species.
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Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. v. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Case Documents:
Filing Date Type File Action Taken Summary 01/23/2024 Order Download Motion for voluntary dismissal of appeal granted. Federal Government Dropped Appeal of District Court’s Rejection of Determination Not to Designate Critical Habitat for Endangered Bee. The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals granted federal defendants’ motion for voluntary dismissal of their appeal of an August 2023 district court decision vacating the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) decision not to designate critical habitat for the rusty patched bumble bee. The district court found that FWS “did not set forth a reasoned basis for its decision not to designate critical habitat for the rusty patched bumble bee under the not-prudent standard set forth in the Endangered Species Act.” The federal government’s motion did not discuss reasons for the voluntary dismissal. The plaintiffs in the suit alleged that the endangered bee faced extinction due to threats that included habitat loss and destruction, pesticide use, and climate change. 01/19/2024 Motion Download Federal defendants-appellants filed unopposed motion to voluntarily dismiss appeal. -
Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. v. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Case Documents:
Filing Date Type File Action Taken Summary 08/11/2023 Memorandum Opinion Download Plaintiffs' motion for summary judgment granted, defendants' motion for summary judgment denied, and critical habitat designation vacated and remanded. Federal Court Rejected Decision Not to Designate Critical Habitat for Rusty Patched Bumble Bee. The federal district court for the District of Columbia ruled that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service did not set forth a reasoned basis for its decision not to designate critical habitat for the rusty patched bumble bee, which was listed as endangered in 2017. The court found that “[t]he record does not demonstrate that critical habitat ‘would not be beneficial’ in any way to the bee.” The court said that even if habitat loss and degradation were not a primary threat to the species, the FWS did not suggest that habitat loss was not “a” threat. The court also said the FWS’s characterization of the species as a “habitat generalist” did not answer the question of whether it could gain any potential benefits from critical habitat designation. Finally, the court rejected the contention that ongoing Section 7 consultation in areas occupied by the bee made critical habitat designation not beneficial. 03/24/2021 Complaint Download Complaint filed. Groups Sought Critical Habitat Designation for Climate-Threatened Rusty Patch Bumble Bee. Three organizations filed a lawsuit in federal court in the District of Columbia to compel the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to designate critical habitat for the rusty patch bumble bee, which was listed as endangered in 2017. The plaintiffs alleged that the bee, “[o]nce common throughout the midwestern and northeastern United States, northward into Canada, the bee has disappeared from the vast majority of its native range and now stands on the brink of extinction, owing to habitat loss and destruction, pesticide use, disease, parasites, and climate change.” The plaintiffs asserted that the FWS’s reasons for determining that designation of critical habitat would not be prudent violated the Endangered Species Act and the Administrative Procedure Act, as well as FWS regulations. The FWS made its determination that designation would not be prudent after reaching a settlement in an earlier case with Natural Resource Defense Council in 2019 that set a schedule for a determination on critical habitat.