Endangered Species Act Archives - Northwest Public Broadcasting

Decision upheld to remove a portion of Electron Dam on the Puyallup River

By Lauren Gallup August 22, 2024

View of Mount Rainier looking southeast up Puyallup River, Tacoma, July 10, 1899. The dam was built on the river in 1904. (Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons)

A portion of the Electron Dam on the Puyallup River has to be removed, according to a decision from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The federal appeals court upheld the decision by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington that a vertical metal wall portion of the dam, a temporary spillway, makes the dam a complete barrier to fish passage and Read More

Complaint to federal agency over Washington animal organization

By Lauren Gallup August 1, 2024

Two canids at the Predators of the Heart facility in Anacortes. The organization also goes by Because We Matter Exotic Animal Rescue. (Courtesy: Debbie Sodl / Because We Matter Exotic Animal Rescue)

In Skagit County, a nonprofit that houses a number of animals, including exotic ones, is in continued legal battles. A law firm that advocates for animal rights is claiming the organization may have violated the Endangered Species Act, by, as the law firm claims in its complaint, the illegal euthanization of wolves. Read More

Federal officials want your thoughts on grizzly reintroduction plans

By Courtney Flatt September 29, 2023

A grizzly bear in Yellowstone National Park. (Credit: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)

Grizzly bear in Yellowstone National Park. (Courtesy: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) Listen (Runtime 0:57) Read Federal officials are considering several possibilities to bring grizzly bears to Washington’s North Cascades. […]Read More

Will some Northwest wolves call Colorado home?

By Courtney Flatt June 29, 2023

A gray wolf. Credit: William Campbell Listen (Runtime 1:01) Read Northwest wolves could soon be on their way to Colorado. Wildlife managers there say they need to bring wolves to […]Read More

Once Imperiled, America’s Bald Eagle Populations Are Soaring

By NPR News March 25, 2021

U.S. bald eagle populations have more than quadrupled in the lower 48 states since 2009, according to a new survey from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. CREDIT: Prisma Bildagentur/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

A new survey by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service found there are more than 70,000 breeding pairs of the iconic raptor in the contiguous U.S. In the late 1960s, there were fewer than 500.Read More

Endangered Species Status Of Northern Spotted Owl Will Remain Unchanged

By NWPB News December 16, 2020

A northern spotted owl. CREDIT: Todd Sonflieth/OPB

The U.S Fish and Wildlife Service ruled against upgrading the iconic Northern spotted owl’s protection status Monday under the Endangered Species Act.Read More

Endangered Species Act Protection Sought For A Northwest Freshwater Mussel

By Monica Samayoa August 21, 2020

Empty western ridged mussel shells from a recent die off found in John Day River in eastern Oregon in August 2020. CREDIT: Teal Waterstrat

A 2017 analysis that looked at historic versus recent distributing areas of the species and found that the populations have declined by almost 50% of its historic range and it has been accelerating in recent years.Read More

Where Have All The Wolverines Gone? Apparently Not On The Endangered Species List (Yet)

By Courtney Flatt January 18, 2020

An unknown male wolverine was spotted at a wildlife monitoring station. Courtesy of the Cascades Carnivore Project

Conservation groups say the animals need to be listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. Ten groups want to force the federal government to protect the elusive wolverines. The groups estimate there are around 300 wolverines left, sparsely scattered across the Mountain West, including Idaho, Washington and Oregon. Read More

Conservationists Push Federal Managers On Timeline Of Endangered Species Determinations

By Courtney Flatt October 21, 2019

At the end of the Obama administration, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service came up with a plan that was supposed to shorten a backlog of species that might need a place on the endangered species list or need more critical habitat protected. But the Center for Biological Diversity says that plan has gone by the wayside under the Trump administration. Read More

Washington, Oregon Among 17 States Suing Feds Over Changes To Endangered Species Protections

By NWPB News September 26, 2019

a monarch butterfly rests on a plant at Abbott's Mill Nature Center in Milford, Del. Seventeen states sued the Trump administration Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2019, to block rules weakening the Endangered Species Act, saying the changes would make it tougher to protect wildlife even in the midst of a global extinction crisis. CREDIT: CAROLYN KASTER/AP

Seventeen states sued the Trump administration Wednesday to block rules weakening the Endangered Species Act, saying the changes would make it tougher to protect wildlife even in the midst of a global extinction crisis.Read More

Could Relocating Sage Grouse Save The Birds In Washington?

By Courtney Flatt September 3, 2019

A male greater sage grouse struts its stuff on Bureau of Land Management land in this April 21, 2012, photo. CREDIT: BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT/FLICKR

Moving imperiled sage grouse from one spot to another can be hard on the birds. But research from Washington State University suggests that after a restless adjustment period, the birds eventually get used to their new homes.Read More

What Is An Endangered Species Worth? New Federal Rule Updates Calculation — And Sparks Debate

By PBS Newshour August 23, 2019

What is the cost to the economy when an animal is listed as an endangered species? The Trump administration could soon start to publicize that calculation, along with the cost and benefits of categorizing an animal that way, under new rules it finalized earlier this month.Read More

Northwest Conservation Groups Contend New Federal Rules Threaten Wildlife

By Jes Burns August 15, 2019

Fishers are among the lesser known carnivores native to Pacific Northwest forests. CREDIT: JOHN JACOBSON / WDFW, FILE PHOTO.

The Trump administration’s announced changes Monday to how the Endangered Species Act will be enforced by federal agencies set off waves of criticism, including vows by several states to challenge the move. Environmental groups also say they may sue to stop the new rules.Read More

Trump Administration Makes Major Changes To Endangered Species Protections

By NPR News August 12, 2019

A bald eagle looks for its next meal along the Skagit River. Eagles converge there in great numbers every winter. CREDIT: JASON RANSOM/ NPS 2017

In a move that critics say will hurt plants, animals and other species as they face mounting threats, the Trump administration is making major changes to how the Endangered Species Act is implemented. Read More

Monarch Butterflies Born In Captivity Have Trouble Migrating South, Study Says

By NPR News June 24, 2019

Thousands of monarch butterflies gather in the eucalyptus trees at the Pismo State Beach Monarch Butterfly Grove. CREDIT: GEORGE ROSE/GETTY IMAGES

The monarch population has declined more than 80% in the past 20 years, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is considering them for the endangered species list. Hobbyists and educators have responded by raising and releasing butterflies. But there are issues, they say, with releasing captive, potentially nonmigratory butterflies into the wild population.Read More

Timeline: A History Of Grizzly Bear Recovery In The Lower 48 States

By NWPB News June 10, 2019

A sow grizzly bear spotted near Camas in northwestern Montana. Wildlife officials endorsed a plan in August to keep northwestern Montana's grizzly population at roughly 1,000 bears as the state seeks to bolster its case that lifting federal protections will not lead to the bruins' demise. CREDIT: MONTANA FISH AND WILDLIFE AND PARK

At their peak, grizzly bears numbered more than 50,000 in the Lower 48. Facing threats from habitat loss, hunting and conflicts with people and livestock, their numbers dwindled to fewer than 1,000 in the lower 48 by the time the Endangered Species Act was implemented in 1975. Here's a timeline of the management actions, court cases and notable events that have shaped Read More

New Plan Would Return California Condors To Northwest Skies

By Cassandra Profita April 7, 2019

The Oregon Zoo is home to one-tenth of the world’s population of California condors. This one is named Kaweah. CREDIT: Miranda Daviduk/OPB

Federal agencies and Northern California’s Yurok Tribe have released a plan to reintroduce critically endangered California condors to the Pacific Northwest.Read More

To Save Endangered Species, Conservationists Want You To ‘Wrap It Up’

By Courtney Flatt February 15, 2019

The Center For Biological Diversity is promoting population control with condoms that bear conservation messages.

Before you wrap up that date with your special someone, there’s something else conservationists hope you wrap up as well … for the love of wildlife. They say preventing unplanned pregnancies could actually help save endangered species.Read More

As Grizzlies Come Back Across The West, Frustration Builds Over Continued Protections

By NPR News February 4, 2019

Trina Jo Bradley at the gate to one of her ranch's pastures. Like most ranchers here, she's been largely accommodating of the grizzlies as their population has rebounded and they've spread off of the neighboring mountains into the more populated plains. CREDIT: CLAIRE HARBAGE/NPR

Since being listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, grizzly bear populations in northwest Montana and the Greater Yellowstone Area have more than tripled in size. That tolerance, scientists and wildlife officials say, is key to the grizzly bears' future as the effects of climate change harden, the West gets more crowded, and bears spreads into areas they Read More

Conservationists Worry As U.S. House Votes To End Wolf Protections, Senate to Consider

By Courtney Flatt November 16, 2018

The U.S. House passed a bill Friday that would end federal protections for gray wolves in the Lower 48 states. For wolves in the Northwest, that would mean protections fall to state agencies. Read More

Trump Administration Proposes Changes To Limit Endangered Species Act

By Courtney Flatt July 19, 2018

The Trump administration is proposing key changes to the Endangered Species Act. It’s a move conservation groups say could greatly weaken the way animals and plants are protected.Read More

Lawmakers Set Sights On Changes To Endangered Species Act

By Jes Burns July 13, 2018

An endangered Western lily in full bloom. CREDIT: JES BURNS

Federal lawmakers are making a move to change the Endangered Species Act. On Thursday, members of the U.S. House announced legislation they say will “modernize” one of the country’s seminal environmental laws, originally passed in 1973.Read More

Washington’s Pikas Are In Even More Trouble Than Scientists Thought

By Eilís O'Neill June 25, 2018

An American pika making its distinctive call.

Pikas like it cold, so, as the climate has warmed, they’ve disappeared from lower elevations where they used to live. For years, scientists thought pikas were adapting to climate change by moving uphill. But new research indicates the news is even worse than that.Read More

Oregon Reverses Course On Increasing Protections For An Imperiled Seabird

By Cassandra Profita June 12, 2018

Marbled murrelets are seabirds that nest in older forests along the West Coast. CREDIT: RICH MCINTOSH

The Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission has decided not to elevate the endangered species status of the marbled murrelet after all.Read More

‘They Aren’t Extinct.’ A Call For Redoubling Effort To Save Endangered Northwest Caribou

By Emily Schwing April 30, 2018

The last caribou herd in the Lower 48 states has dwindled from 11 animals last year to just three earlier this year. CREDIT: STEVE FORREST / U.S. FISH & WILDLIFE SERVICE

The last caribou herd in the Lower 48 is dwindling. According to aerial survey data collected earlier this spring, it’s down from 11 animals last year to just three. In recent weeks, national headlines have deemed the animals of the herd ‘functionally extinct.’Read More

Will These High Desert Sage Grouse Be ‘Nevermore’ With Egg-Stealing Ravens In Their Midst?

By Courtney Flatt April 9, 2018

Lindsey Perry prepares a tag for a female sage grouse. CREDIT: COURTNEY FLATT

Sage grouse are found in 11 Western states. But they’re in trouble. In Oregon, their fragmented habitat is threatened by human development, invasive species, wildfires and overgrazing. Researchers are just starting to look into raven depredation, a more controversial problem for the birds. In a policy shift, the federal government wants sage grouse work to focus on the Read More

Once-Vanished Fishers Are Making Their Comeback In Washington

By Ken Christensen January 30, 2018

Jeff Lewis (left) listens for signals from below his airplane indicating the presence of fishers below in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. CREDIT: KEN CHRISTIENSEN

Biologists released a handful of weasel-like animals called fishers into the Washington Cascades in 2015. Two years later, the scientists returned to see if they were surviving and reproducing.Read More