Center for Biological Diversity v. Burgum

Center for Biological Diversity and three other organizations filed a lawsuit in the federal district court for the District of Oregon challenging the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s February 2024 determination that the north Oregon coast distinct population segment (DPS) of red tree vole did not warrant protection as endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act. The complaint alleged that the determination ignored key findings of peer-reviewed studies and downplayed risks, including wildfire risk. The complaint alleged that the FWS had acknowledged that climate change was expected to increase the risk of large-scale wildfires but had concluded that the risk of catastrophic fire were “relatively low” and that tree voles could recolonize burned areas as they had in the past. The complaint asserted that the determination that listing was not warranted was arbitrary and capricious, that FWS ignored best available science when analyzing the DPS’s connectivity to other population areas, arbitrarily downplayed the risk of wildfire, and arbitrarily concluded the DPS was not threatened or endangered in a significant portion of its range.