Description: Lawsuit to compel response to list the Joshua tree as a threatened species.
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WildEarth Guardians v. Bernhardt
Case Documents:
Filing Date Type File Action Taken Summary 08/15/2019 Notice of Voluntary Dismissal Download Plaintiff filed voluntary dismissal. Conservation Group Voluntarily Dismissed Lawsuit to Compel Determination on Joshua Tree After Fish and Wildlife Service Said Threatened Listing Was Not Warranted. On August 15, 2019, WildEarth Guardians voluntarily dismissed a lawsuit it had filed only two days earlier to compel the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to make a 12-month finding on a petition to list the Joshua tree as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. WildEarth Guardians submitted the petition in September 2015, and FWS issued a positive 90-day finding in September 2016. On August 14, 2019, FWS issued a determination that listing was not warranted. The August 13 complaint alleged that climate change and drought threatened to “completely eradicate” the Joshua tree by 2100. 08/13/2019 Complaint Download Complaint filed.