Center for Biological Diversity v. Bernhardt

In a lawsuit seeking to compel the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to list the Southern Mountain Caribou distinct population segment (DPS) as endangered or threatened, conservation groups filed a notice of voluntary dismissal after the FWS issued a final rule listing the DPS as endangered and designating critical habitat. The final rule identified climate change as a threat to the caribou and stated that “changes in climate could directly impact the southern mountain caribou DPS by: (1) Reducing the abundance, distribution, and quality of caribou habitat; (2) limiting the ability of caribou to move between seasonal habitats; and (3) limiting their ability to avoid predation. Impacts from climate change may also affect caribou and their habitat by affecting external factors such as increased disease and insect outbreaks, increased fire occurrence, and changes in snow depth.”