The federal district court for the District of Alaska upheld the National Marine Fisheries Service’s (NMFS’s) 2020 decision not to delist the Arctic ringed seal as an endangered species. First, the court rejected the plaintiffs’ contention that because the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service had determined that conclusions beyond 2060 were based on speculation in the context of its decision not to list the Pacific walrus under the Endangered Species Act, NMFS should not look beyond that date in its “foreseeable future analysis” for the ringed seal. The court found that NMFS “provided a rational connection between the facts it observed” (e.g., the Arctic ring seal’s need for access to snow cover on top of stable ice) and the decision to treat the seal differently from how the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service treated the Pacific walrus, which exhibited a greater capacity to adapt. Next, the court found that it was reasonable for NMFS not to consider a scenario based on low greenhouse gas emissions in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Fifth Assessment Report. The court said “current trends indicate there will be continued high GHG emissions” and the plaintiffs’ delisting petition did not provide “evidence to support a dramatic, worldwide shift in emissions.” The court also rejected the argument that NMFS improperly disregarded new data indicating that changes in sea ice extent and duration had not detectably reduced ringed seal population size or health.

Challenge to the National Marine Fisheries Service's rejection of a petition to delist the Arctic ringed seal under the Endangered Species Act.

Alaska v. National Marine Fisheries Service

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Alaska Federal Court Rejected Challenge to Continued Listing of Arctic Ringed Seal as Endangered

Filed

United States of America

Alaska

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Alaska Federal Court Rejected Challenge to Continued Listing of Arctic Ringed Seal as Endangered

Risk

Fossil fuel

Greenhouse gas

Economic sector

Adaptation/resilience