Opinion ID: 3052211
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Legal Protections for the Marbled Murrelet

Text: FWS moved slowly in considering the Audubon Society’s petition to list the tri-state murrelets. Eventually, the Audubon Society sued, contending that FWS had missed mandatory ESA deadlines triggered by a listing petition. See Marbled Murrelet v. Lujan, No. C91-522R, 4-7 (D. Wash. Sept. 17, 1992). At issue in that case was whether there was a “substantial disagreement,” see 16 U.S.C. § 1533(b)(6)(B)(i), concerning whether the tri-state population of the marbled murrelet was a “distinct population segment” of the larger species. The ESA defines species to “include[ ] . . . any distinct population segment of any species of vertebrate fish or wildlife which interbreeds when mature.” 16 U.S.C. § 1532(16) (emphasis added). FWS maintained that the tri-state murrelets could be listed only as a distinct population segment, and that there was a substantial scientific disagreement as to that question, justifying a six-month delay. Notice of Extension of the Final Decision to List the Washington, Oregon, and California Pop7476 COOS COUNTY v. KEMPTHORNE ulation of the Marbled Murrelet as a Threatened Species, 57 Fed. Reg. 33,478, 33,479 (July 29, 1992) (“Extension Notice”); see 16 U.S.C. § 1533(b)(6)(B)(i) (providing for such a delay for the purpose of “soliciting additional data”). The district court in Marbled Murrelet disagreed with both FWS’s premises and its conclusion. It first held that FWS could list the tri-state population whether or not that population was a distinct population segment, rendering any substantial disagreement as to that question irrelevant. Marbled Murrelet, No. C91-522R at 11-12. The court observed that a threatened species is one which “is likely to become an endangered species within the foreseeable future throughout all or a significant portion of its range.” Id. at 11 (quoting 16 U.S.C. § 1532(20), emphasis added). In light of this definition, the court reasoned as follows: Plaintiffs argue that, in order to support listing the marbled murrelet as threatened under the ESA, the Secretary [of the Interior] need only find that the North American subspecies of the marbled murrelet is threatened throughout a significant portion of its range. Plaintiffs then point out that the Secretary reached those very conclusions in his [Proposed Rule] and that he has never retreated from or retracted them. Indeed, the [Proposed Rule] cites the definition of a “threatened species” quoted above and then states that “California, Oregon, and Washington constitute a significant portion of the marbled murrelet’s range. In those states the species is immediately threatened by the loss of nesting habitat (old-growth and mature forests).” [Citation omitted] Nothing in the [Extension Notice] contradicts or casts any doubt on these conclusions. Therefore, the court concludes that, based on the uncontradicted findings that the marbled murrelet qualifies for listing as a threatened speCOOS COUNTY v. KEMPTHORNE 7477 cies throughout a significant portion of its range within the meaning of the ESA, there is no need to consider the alternative basis of whether the tri-state population is a distinct population segment which might qualify for protection under the ESA. Marbled Murrelet, No. C91-522R at 11-12.3 The court further held that, in any event, there was no substantial disagreement as to the distinct population segment question, so no delay was justified even if the distinct population segment issue mattered. Id. at 12-22. It ordered FWS promptly to make its final listing decision. Id. at 22-25. FWS complied with the district court’s order a few days later, and did not appeal it. In its final listing rule, FWS discussed in an interwoven fashion whether the tri-state murrelets are a distinct population segment and whether they inhabit a significant portion of the species’s range. The rule provides, in a section entitled “Distinct Population Segment”: [E]xisting legal mechanisms are not adequate to protect the marbled murrelet in California, Oregon, and Washington. The three states encompass roughly one-third of the geographic area occupied by this subspecies, comprising a significant portion of its range. The amount of nesting habitat has undergone 3 The district court referred to the North American marbled murrelet as a “subspecies” because, at the time of listing, that population was thought to be within the same species as an Asian murrelet species. See Listing Rule, 57 Fed. Reg. at 45,328. After reviewing more recent studies, FWS concluded that the North American murrelet is a distinct species. See Designation of Critical Habitat for the Marbled Murrelet; Proposed Rule, 71 Fed. Reg. 53,838, 53,840 (Sept. 12, 2006). The distinction is not of any relevance to the ESA’s protections, as the statute specifies that “[t]he term ‘species’ includes any subspecies of fish or wildlife,” 16 U.S.C. § 1532(16), and FWS has construed the statute to allow it to protect distinct population segments of subspecies. See Policy Regarding the Recognition of Distinct Vertebrate Population Segments Under the Endangered Species Act, 61 Fed. Reg. 4,722, 4,724 (Feb. 7, 1996). 7478 COOS COUNTY v. KEMPTHORNE a tremendous decline since the late 1800s (most of which has taken place during the last 20 to 30 years), especially in the coastal areas of all three states. At the time of proposing to list the marbled murre- let in Washington, Oregon, and California, the Service considered the murrelets in these States to constitute a distinct population segment comprising a significant portion of the eastern Pacific subspecies of the marbled murrelet. While the Service continues to believe that existing legal protection is not adequate to ensure survival of murrelets in the threestate area, some question remains whether the population listed in this rule qualifies for protection under the [ESA’s] definition of “species.” Compliance with a court order required a final decision on listing to be made at this time. Based on the information now available to the Service, the only supportable decision that can be reached within the limit imposed by the court is to list the population as proposed. Nevertheless, the Service intends to reexamine the basis of recognizing this population of murrelets as a “species” under the Act. Within 90 days, the Service will announce the results of this examination and at that time may propose a regula- tory change that would alter the listing of the murrelet as a threatened species. Listing Rule, 57 Fed. Reg. at 45,330. Despite its equivocation in the Listing Rule, FWS never proposed altering the listing. In 1996, FWS designated critical habitat for the murrelets, see 16 U.S.C. § 1533(a)(3), observing that the “loss of nesting habitat [is] one of the primary factors limiting current population size from British Columbia to California.” Critical Habitat Rule, 61 Fed. Reg. at 26,258. COOS COUNTY v. KEMPTHORNE 7479 In 1997, FWS adopted a Recovery Plan for the murrelets. See U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Recovery Plan for the Marbled Murrelet (“Recovery Plan”);4 see also 16 U.S.C. § 1533(f). Recovery plans set out, among other goals, “objective, measurable criteria which, when met, would result in a determination . . . that [a] species be removed from the list.” 16 U.S.C. § 1533(f)(B)(ii). The Recovery Plan did not develop final specific delisting criteria, pending further research, but did provide “[i]nterim delisting criteria,” which include: 1) Trends in estimated population size, densities and productivity have been stable or increasing in four of the six zones [into which the region occupied by the tri-state murrelets has been divided] over a 10-year period. This period of time will encompass at least one to two El Niño events, based on recent fre- quency of occurrences. 2) Management commitments (marine and terres- trial) and monitoring have been implemented that provide adequate protection of marbled murrelets in the six Conservation Zones for at least the near future (50 years). Recovery Plan at 112-13; see also Five-Year Review at 17. Since 1992, when the tri-state murrelets were listed, their population appears to have somewhat increased, although improvements in data collection in the interim makes absolute population comparisons difficult. See id. at 6-7. The 2004 Five-Year Review estimated that as many as 24,400 birds may now be present in the three states. Id. at 18. Nonetheless, the Five-Year Review also found that the murrelet continues to face serious threats and, while there is not adequate infor- 4 The Recovery Plan is available online at http://ecos.fws.gov/docs/ recovery_plans/1997/970924.pdf. 7480 COOS COUNTY v. KEMPTHORNE mation presently to determine a population trend, many experts suspect the population is now declining. Id. at 6-7, 1820. The population north of the border also appears to be in trouble, as Canada recently listed the marbled murrelet as a threatened species under its Species at Risk Act (“SARA”), S.C. ch. 29, enacted in 2002. See Five-Year Review at 14-16.