Center for Biological Diversity v. National Marine Fisheries Service

Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) filed a notice of voluntary dismissal after the National Marine Fisheries Service published the required 90-day finding announcing that CBD's petition did not present substantial scientific or commercial information indicating that listing was warranted. CBD filed a new lawsuit (No. 1:26-cv-01831) on May 28, 2026 challenging this determination.

Center for Biological Diversity filed a lawsuit in the federal district court for the District of Columbia to compel the National Marine Fisheries Service to issue a 90-day finding on a February 2024 petition to list the American horseshoe crab under the Endangered Species Act. The complaint alleged that the horseshoe crab was one of the oldest living species but that its populations have “crashed” in the past three decades and its habitat is “rapidly disappearing.” Threats identified in the complaint included overharvesting and threats to spawning beaches from development, dredging, erosion, pollution, climate change, and sea level rise.

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