Center for Biological Diversity v. Lutnick

Center for Biological Diversity filed a lawsuit in the federal district court for the District of Columbia challenging the National Marine Fisheries Service’s (NMFS’s) failure to designate critical habitat for the queen conch concurrently with its listing of the queen conch as threatened on February 14, 2024. The complaint alleged that NMFS found at that time that critical habitat was not then determinable but also failed to designate critical habitat within one year after that date as required by the ESA. The complaint alleged that overharvesting, pollution, habitat degradation, and climate change have placed the species in danger of extinction in the foreseeable future.