End to Destruction of Eagles Nests At Norfolk Botanical Garden Urged

On behalf of Eagle on Alliance (EOA) – a grass-roots group in Virginia – the firm today sent a letter to the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) requesting it to stop allowing the City of Norfolk to destroy the nests of eagles that have lived at the Garden since 2003 and that millions of people have delighted in following over “Eagle Cam” until the site was shut down when nest destruction began last fall.   The FWS decided to authorize the destruction of the nests from October, 2012 – March, 2013 in an effort to make the eagles leave the area which is adjacent to the Norfolk International Airport, and since then the City (with the assistance of the USDA “Wildlife Services” division) has destroyed seven different nests, each time waiting until the nest is almost completed before tearing it down – all at taxpayer expense.  Although under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act the FWS is only authorized to allow the destruction of eagles nests when “necessary” to protect public safety, internal minutes of a meeting held by the FWS, the Airport, and the City of Norfolk before the FWS issued the permit reveal that the consensus of the agency biologists was that it was “unlikely” that removal of these nests “would be successful in preventing future nesting in close proximity to the airport,” and that, consequently “removal of the nest will not address the concern of aviation and eagle hazards.”   In addition, although the agency’s implementing regulations require the FWS to also determine that “there is no practicable alternative to nest removal that would protect the interest to be served,” the Airport has yet to implement several obvious measures that to reduce the risk of “bird strikes” there.  For example, although other Airports immediately adjacent to wildlife areas – such as JFK and the Philadelphia Airport – employ full-time wildlife biologists to detect and disperse birds from the runways, and to alert airmen when birds are present, internal documents recently obtained by EOA under the open records laws show that the Norfolk Airport borrows a federal employee for this purpose for only 60 hours each month, despite the fact that, according to its own financial records, the Airport has over $150,000,000 in “total net assets,” and recently announced that it is spending $11 million to renovate the lobby, including “the installation of  a large skylight in the lobby area [and] the installation of a new terrazzo flooring.”   Asserting that the FWS simply cannot meet the necessary requirements for authorizing the destruction of the eagles’ nests, EOA has asked the agency to terminate the exiting permit and to refrain from issuing any additional permits to the City for next year.

Preliminary Injunction Filed To Prevent Harm To Cliff Swallows Until Highway Agencies Comply With Federal Law

Earlier this week, along with co-counsel from the Animal Legal Defense Fund, we filed a preliminary injunction before Judge Jon Tigar of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California seeking to halt bridge construction affecting a sizeable colony of Cliff Swallows, until and unless the agencies comply with their duties under the National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”) and Migratory Bird Treaty Act (“MBTA”).  The agencies have never in any NEPA review subject to public participation considered or analyzed the impacts of exclusionary netting and other activities on this swallow colony, which has already resulted in many dozens of killed, injured, and captured swallows and other migratory birds, nor have the agencies obtained authorization for their harmful activities under the MBTA.  The preliminary injunction motion and memorandum can be found here.

Lawsuit Filed To Protect Cliff Swallows And Other Birds From Death And Injury In California

On Friday, along with lawyers from the Animal Legal Defense Fund, we filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California seeking to protect Cliff Swallows that nest on two bridges from continued death, injury, and entanglement due to exclusionary netting placed on the bridges by the California Department of Transportation, the U.S. Department of Transportation, and the Federal Highway Administration as part of their Highway 101 widening project in the Marin-Sonoma Narrows.  Over the past two months, more than one hundred Swallows have been killed or injured as a result of the netting, and other birds have also been killed, but the agencies have not obtained authorization for those actions under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.  The agencies also never analyzed the impacts of this project or the exclusionary netting on Cliff Swallows in general or the Cliff Swallows that nest on these two bridges in particular, in violation of the National Environmental Policy Act.  The complaint can be found here, and the press release here.

New Lawsuit Filed To Curtail ORV Use To Protect Fragile Resources Of Big Cypress National Preserve

In a new chapter to the decades-old saga of off-road vehicle (“ORV”) management in Florida’s Big Cypress National Preserve, we filed suit this week on behalf of a coalition of national and regional conservation organizations challenging the National Park Service’s creation of a massive network of secondary ORV trails in violation of the Preserve’s management plan and various federal environmental laws.  Park Service officials have long acknowledged the devastating impacts of rampant ORV use on the Preserve’s sensitive soils, vegetation, hydrological patterns, and wildlife (which includes the highly endangered Florida panther, among other federally listed species), but the Service has nevertheless authorized an extensive off-road vehicle network that caters to recreational ORV users at the expense of these vulnerable resources.  The case was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, where four previous related lawsuits have been filed.  The complaint is here and a press release concerning the new case is here. 

Notice of Appeal Filed in Case To Protect Rock Creek Park Deer

Today, on behalf of a coalition of local DC residents and In Defense of Animals, we filed a Notice of Appeal of the district court’s ruling upholding the National Park Service’s decision to allow sharpshooters to decimate native deer in Rock Creek Park in Washington DC.  This is the first time in the 123 year history of the Park that the federal government has allowed the killing of any native wildlife. 

The number of deer in Rock Creek Park has been stable for at least ten years, and there is no urgent problem facing the Park that would warrant gunning down native wildlife in close proximity to residential neighborhoods.  Even if there were a problem, it could be handled much more humanely with fertility control – a method that has worked to control wild deer and horses in other parts of the county.  A petition asking the National Park Service to reconsider this shotgun approach to managing RockCreek Park has garnered more than 5,000 signatures.

DC Circuit Dismisses API Challenge To Transparency Rules

Agreeing with the argument presented by our client Oxfam America, Inc., the D.C. Circuit today dismissed the American Petroleum Institute’s (API) Petition for Review challenging a key provision of Dodd-Frank that requires publicly traded oil and gas companies to disclose their payments to governments.  API argued the regulation was overly burdensome and violated the companies’ First Amendment rights, but the Court agreed with us that it lacks jurisdiction to hear the case, which must be presented first in the district court.  Today’s opinion is here.

Orca Whale Named Lolita Closer To Being Protected Under The Endangered Species Act

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) yesterday issued a "positive 90-day finding" on a petition to include the orca named Lolita among the wild southern resident killer whales who are listed as "endangered" and from which Lolita was captured in the early 1970s and put on exhibition in Miami Florida.  We represent the Animal Legal Defense Fund, PETA, the Orca Network, and several individuals in pressing to have Lolita protected under the ESA.  Since her capture, Lolita has been living in a tank of water at the Miami Seaquarium which falls below the minimum standards for cetaceans of her size, and where she is denied shelter from the sun and companions of her own species.  NMFS has concluded that the listing petition presents "substantial scientific or commercial information indicating" that including Lolita as endangered is "warranted."  The agency will now have nine months -- after notice and comment from the public -- to decide whether Lolita should be listed.  For a copy of the agency's decision click here.