Developer, others seek to remove beetle from endangered list

Attorneys with Pacific Legal Foundation filed papers Thursday with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, petitioning for the removal of the valley elderberry longhorn beetle from the federal endangered species list. Pacific Legal Foundation attorneys represent a broad coalition of Sacramento area landowners, businesses, farmers and flood control agencies in the case, Yolo County Farm Bureau v. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The beetle is listed as “threatened” under the federal Endangered Species Act. According to the PLF, in 2006, Fish and Wildlife completed a mandatory five-year review as part of a settlement agreement in a case brought by PLF attorneys. The review concluded that the beetle should be taken off the list, but that has not taken place, according to the PLF...more