The sturgeon, a threatened species, is found in the Gulf of Mexico and in the rivers of several Gulf Coast states. In 1994, the Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund, on behalf of the Orleans Audubon Society and the Florida Wildlife Federation, sued both Services for their failure to designate critical habitat for the fish.
Critical habitat is applied to areas deemed necessary for a species' conservation and recovery.
The designation only prohibits Federal agencies from carrying out actions that might destroy or adversely modify habitat. The designation does not apply to private landowners, local or state governments or to other non-Federal entities. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is the primary Federal agency involved in river activities in the range of the Gulf sturgeon, which includes navigation and flood control projects. The Gulf sturgeon was listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act in 1991. It is a large, bottom-feeding fish with a cylindrical body, long snout and ventral mouth.