Protecting endangered species and wild places of western North America and the Pacific through science, policy, education, and environmental law. NMFS is now nearly 9 months late on the finding for the Bowhead whale, and over a month late on the finding for the Northern right whale. However, a positive 90-day finding does not provide immediate protection for species. Rather, it only begins another procedural stage in the ESA, where NMFS must conduct a review of the best scientific and economic information available to determine how to proceed with the critical habitat proposals. The second stage must be completed within 12 months of receipt of a petition.
Critical habitat is supposed to be designated concurrently with a species listing.
When confronted with its failure to adequately designate critical habitat for endangered species, federal agencies often try to excuse their delinquency by claiming that critical habitat is of little or no benefit to endangered species. However, federal agencies have repeatedly and soundly lost this argument in court. Designating critical habitat will add significant new protection for these whales, and can halt destructive projects that could affect the species' survival. Once abundant in both the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, the Northern right whale is now the most endangered whale in the world. Today there may be only 300 right whales left in the Atlantic Ocean, and perhaps only 100 left in the Pacific.