Center for Biological Diversity v. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

Center for Biological Diversity, Friends of the Columbia Gorge, and Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center filed a lawsuit in the federal district court for the District of Oregon challenging the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s failure to issue final listing rules for the northwestern pond turtle and southwestern pond turtle after issuing a proposed rule to list both pond turtle species as threatened on October 3, 2023. The complaint alleged that the proposed listing rule cited various threats to the pond turtles, including habitat loss, degradation and modification, predation, competition, and the effects of climate change. The complaint alleged that the Endangered Species Act required FWS to issue final listing rules by October 3, 2024.