ELR Citation: ELR 20086
No(s). 07-17147 (9th Cir. Apr 10, 2009)

The Ninth Circuit, in an unpublished memorandum, affirmed a lower court's approval of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's (FWS') listing of the Central California tiger salamander as threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The FWS made express findings based on the best available scientific data about future habitat loss and concluded, in its scientific judgment, that this future habitat loss made it likely that the Central California tiger salamander will become in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range in the foreseeable future. The FWS is not required to state a threshold level of habitat loss that is necessary to find a species is threatened. In addition, the FWS can list a species as threatened based on any one of the five factors listed in ESA §4(a)(1). And the FWS did not incorrectly rely on past habitat loss, but based its listing decision on future habitat loss.