For Immediate Release, December 22, 2017
Contact: |
Kimiko Martinez, Natural Resources Defense Council, (310) 434-2344,
kmartinez@nrdc.org
Ryan Shannon, Center for Biological Diversity, (503) 283-5474 x 407, rshannon@biologicaldiversity.org |
Legal Action Aims to Protect Imperiled Coastal California Gnatcatcher
WASHINGTON— Conservation groups took to the courts again today to protect the threatened coastal California gnatcatcher — a tiny, gray bird that lives in the rapidly declining sage brush habitat in Southern California.
The Natural Resources Defense Council, National Audubon Society, Center for Biological Diversity, Endangered Habitats League and Laguna Greenbelt intervened to defend the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s August 2016 determination that the coastal California gnatcatcher warrants protection under the Endangered Species Act. Industry groups have challenged that determination in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
The gnatcatcher is a frequent target of property rights groups like the Pacific Legal Foundation and the National Association for Homebuilders, which have been trying to discredit the scientific classification of the bird since NRDC and other groups petitioned to have it protected under the Endangered Species Act more than 20 years ago.
“The science is clear: the coastal California gnatcatcher is a distinct subspecies that deserves Endangered Species Act protections,” said Sylvia Fallon, director of NRDC’s Wildlife Conservation Project. “This tiny bird occupies the last of the remaining coastal sage scrub habitat which is home not just to the gnatcatcher, but to many different species. It’s essential that we protect this rare ecosystem.”
“The government’s review process worked perfectly in the case of the gnatcatcher, revealing the litigant’s deeply flawed, self-serving study for what it is,” said Michael Lynes, public policy director for Audubon California. “If these developers are successful in undermining the government’s scientific review process, then they will have successfully undermined the Endangered Species Act itself.”
“The Pacific Legal Foundation’s bogus claims about the coastal California gnatcatcher have been repeatedly rejected by experts with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,” said Ryan Shannon, endangered species staff attorney for the Center for Biological Diversity. “The Foundation is again trying to use junk science to fuel its extreme anti-wildlife agenda. But this little bird is clearly unique and desperately needs continued protection.”
“The gnatcatcher listing has been fully vetted by two scientific panels and remains a cornerstone for conservation programs in Southern California,” said Dan Silver, executive director of the Endangered Habitats League. “Our preserve systems already balance the environment with development, and the building industry should be working to make these a success instead of tearing them down through litigation.”
“The coastal California gnatcatcher is an indicator species for the hundred-plus other species that constitute and depend on the coastal scrub ecosystem. The attack on the gnatcatcher listing is a thinly veiled attack on the value of the entire ecosystem and the habitat reserves that were created as mitigation for the widespread replacement of scrub communities with urban sprawl development,” said Elisabeth Brown, president of Laguna Greenbelt.
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