News & Updates
Conference of Western Attorneys General
October 11, 2023
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ESA Status for Burying Beetle not Elevated
A federal judge has denied the elevation of federal protections for the American burying beetle. Citing deference to the Fish and Wildlife Service's expertise, a U.S. District Judge dismissed the bid to put the beetle back on the list of most at-risk species.
The lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia had challenged the federal agency's 2019 decision under the Endangered Species Act to list the beetle as threatened rather as endangered, which had been its prior status since 1989.
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Red Wolves and Their Needs in Recovery
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) released an updated species recovery plan for the red wolf that spanned over 50 years to successfully get the red wolf off the endangered species list once and for all. In 2015, the FWS ceased to release new red wolf pups from captivity. In 2020, the FWS was sued by multiple conservation groups who argued this move violated the Endangered Species Act. The lawsuit prompted the creation of the species recovery plan. The main approach in the report suggests that the revised recovery plan aims to drastically reduce red wolf deaths by gunshots and vehicles, as well as use creativity when it comes to encouraging reproduction in the wild and captivity. Wildlands Network states red wolves are important parts of the ecosystem that regulate deer, keeping them from overpopulation and over-grazing farmland. Red wolves are also responsible for curbing populations of raccoons and opossums, a role that coyotes do not fill.
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EPA Releases Final Guidance for New Pesticide Applications and Registration Review Activities That Require Endangered Species Act Reviews
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the release of final guidance to improve the efficiency of EPA’s Endangered Species Act analyses for new pesticide active ingredient applications and active ingredients undergoing registration review. EPA states this guidance fulfills requirements outlined in the Pesticide Registration Improvement Act of 2022 (PRIA 5) and furthers goals outlined in EPA’s 2022 ESA Workplan to protect listed species from exposure to pesticides.
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Groundwater Fight in Rural California is Rooted in Carrots
California farmers are carefully monitoring irrigation to ensure they are not wasting any of the groundwater. Farmers, ranchers, and others living near the town of New Cuyama have been hauled into court by a lawsuit filed by two of the nation's biggest carrot growers, over the right to pump groundwater.
For years, California didn't regulate groundwater, allowing farmers and residents to drill wells and take what they needed. That changed in 2014, during a historic drought, and as wells caused land in some places to sink. A new state law required communities to form local groundwater sustainability agencies tasked with developing plans, which must be approved by the state, on how to manage their basins into the future. Most basins, including Cuyama's, were among the first to do so with a goal of achieving sustainability by 2040.
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Sault Ste. Marie Tribe to Appeal 1836 Treaty Fishing Rights Decision
The Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians from east of the Mississippi River announced its intention to appeal the ruling from a U.S. District Court Judge that would regulate all 1836 Treaty Tribes’ fishing rights for the next 24 years.
The ruling approved an agreement made between federal regulators, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, and four other Michigan federally recognized tribes to divvy up fishing rights in parts of the Upper Great Lakes. The Sault Ste. Marie Tribe, which was not part of the agreement, contends the agreement infringes on their fishing rights provided through the 1836 treaty. The Sault Tribe Chairman stated that fishing is an integral part of the Sault Tribe's identity and way of life, both culturally and economically.
The Sault Tribe has been a longtime leader in sustainable fisheries management. The tribe works closely with other tribal governments, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and many others to ensure the health of the Great Lakes. The Sault Tribe Fisheries Program is constantly analyzing the health of the fishery through activities like disease testing and invasive species monitoring.
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Wyoming Toad Conservation Area and Paint Rock River National Wildlife Refuge
Wyoming Toad Conservation Area in Wyoming and the Paint Rock River National Wildlife Refuge in Tennessee were recently established. These additions are the culmination of decades-long, locally-led efforts to conserve habitat for species while maintaining recreational access.
Wyoming Toad Conservation Area
The new conservation area, located in the Laramie Plains of the Wyoming Basin, will support the protection of habitat critical for the survival of the Wyoming toad, one of the most endangered amphibians in North America. The area is also important for the conservation of other species including the white-tailed prairie dog, pronghorn and migratory birds. The acquisition will provide future public access to the Laramie River and opportunities for outdoor recreation, including hiking, fishing, hunting, and wildlife observation.
Paint Rock River National Wildlife Refuge
Tennessee’s newest national wildlife refuge will serve as a critical link between nearby state and nonprofit conservation lands in Tennessee and Alabama that help conserve the Paint Rock River watershed and one of the largest contiguous tracts of hardwoods remaining in eastern North America. The Paint Rock River National Wildlife Refuge is part of a unique ecosystem with a high diversity of aquatic, terrestrial, and karst habitats that support threatened and endangered species including gray bats, Indiana bats, Tennessee cave salamanders and Alabama cave shrimp. Its waters are home to 100 species of fish and 50 kinds of freshwater mussels, including some that are found nowhere else in the world.
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Cannabis and Hemp Developments in North Carolina from the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians
The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Votes to Regulate Adult-Use Cannabis and a Dispensary Could Open in Late 2023. North Carolina is still one of only a few states in the country that has not legalized and implemented either a medical or adult-use cannabis program. Access to both medical and adult-use cannabis will soon be available in western North Carolina once a dispensary operated by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) commences operations. The EBCI is a sovereign nation and a federally recognized Indian Tribe located on the 57,000-acre Qualla Boundary in Cherokee, NC.
On September 7, 2023, EBCI members overwhelmingly approved a voter referendum to legalize the possession and use of adult-use cannabis and require the EBCI to develop a regulated adult-use cannabis market. All adults 21 years of age and older, including non-EBCI members, will be eligible to purchase cannabis and cannabis products at the EBCI’s dispensary, potentially by the end of this year. Once fully operational, the EBCI’s retail dispensary will be the first and only place in the state of North Carolina to legally purchase cannabis.
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US Government Agrees to Help Restore Sacred Native American Site Destroyed for Oregon Road Project
The U.S. government has agreed to help restore a sacred Native American site on the slopes of Oregon’s Mount Hood that was destroyed by highway construction. In a settlement filed with the high court, the U.S. Department of Transportation and other federal agencies agreed to replant trees and aid in efforts to rebuild an altar at a site along U.S. Highway 26 that tribes said had been used for religious purposes since time immemorial.
Members of the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation and the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde said a 2008 project destroyed an area known as the Place of Big Big Trees, which was home to a burial ground, a historic campground, medicinal plants, old-growth Douglas Firs and a stone altar. In court documents dating back to 2008 when the suit was filed, a hereditary chief of the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation, said they visited the site for decades to pray, gather sacred plants and pay respects to their ancestors until it was demolished. They accused the agencies involved of violating, among other things, their religious freedom and the National Historic Preservation Act, which requires tribal consultation when a federal project may affect places that are on tribal lands or of cultural or historic significance to a tribe.
Under the settlement, the government agreed to plant nearly 30 trees on the parcel and maintain them through watering and other means for at least three years. They also agreed to help restore the stone altar, install a sign explaining its importance to Native Americans and grant access to the surrounding area for cultural purposes.
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Where filing by guardian ad litem prior to guardianship trial included records indicating that father had Apache heritage on his mother’s side, the trial court had no reason to know that the child may be an Indian child when the report was not admitted as substantive evidence during the trial, there was no indication in the record that anyone called the report to the trial court's attention, and none of the witnesses, including the father, testified during the trial that the child had tribal heritage.
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Arizona state courts do not have jurisdiction to hear civil claims brought against the estate of tribal member who was alleged to have negligently killed four non members in a car accident occurring on a state highway running through the Navajo Nation.
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The amendment to the Major Crimes Act in the 2013 Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act did not alter federal jurisdiction to prosecute felony child abuse as defined and punished under the laws of the state where the offense was committed.
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All summaries are posted in CWAG's Google Docs account, accessible through the link below. Should you have any issues with the links, contact Patricia Salazar at [email protected] with questions.
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Conference of Western Attorneys General
5050 Laguna Blvd | Suite 112-323 | Elk Grove, California 95758
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