Suit Seeks Kangaroo Rat Delisting

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 from listing under the Endangered Species Act. So argues a lawsuit filed in federal court by attorneys with Pacific Legal Foundation, 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 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...read more