WildEarth Guardians v. Nesvik

Three environmental organizations filed a lawsuit in the federal district court for the District of Colorado challenging a 2024 rule issued by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) that listed silverspot butterflies as threatened (rather than endangered), exempted certain agricultural practices from the prohibition on incidental take of silverspots, and determined that designation of critical habitat would not be prudent. The plaintiffs contended that FWS’s determination that silverspots are not endangered in a significant portion of their range was arbitrary and capricious, including because FWS determined that climate change was not a major factor affecting the silverspots. The plaintiffs asked the court to vacate the incidental take exemptions, to remand the threatened listing without vacatur, to order issuance of a new proposed rule within six months, and to carry out or require remedial relief for any harm to silverspot butterflies already caused by the challenged actions.