Desert Tortoise Council v. Burgum

A coalition of conservation organizations and biologists filed a lawsuit challenging the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s 2022 determination that listing of the Sonoran desert tortoise as endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act was not warranted. The plaintiffs alleged that the determination was not consistent with previous findings from 2010 to 2014, that it conflicted with best available science, and that it “downplay[ed] the significant threat from climate change, including severe drought conditions in Arizona which are likely to result in alarming population declines (likely exceeding 80% of the entire population) in the foreseeable future.” The complaint also alleged that the determination overlooked cumulative threats from climate change and other factors including habitat loss from development, and relied on nonbinding voluntary conservation measures.