Opinion ID: 76247
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Alabama sturgeon

Text: 11 The Alabama sturgeon ( Scaphirhynchus suttkusi ) is a small freshwater fish that was historically found only in the Mobile River system of Alabama and Mississippi. Final Rule to List the Alabama Sturgeon as Endangered, 65 Fed.Reg. 26,438 (May 5, 2000) [hereinafter, Final Rule ]. 12 This sturgeon is an elongate, slender fish growing to about 80 centimeters (cm) (31 inches (in)) in length. A mature fish weighs 1 to 2 kilograms (kg) (2 to 4 pounds (lb)). The head is broad and flattened shovel-like at the snout. The mouth is tubular and protrusive. There are four barbels (whisker-like appendages used to find prey) on the bottom of the snout, in front of the mouth. Bony plates cover the head, back, and sides. The body narrows abruptly to the rear, forming a narrow stalk between the body and tail. The upper lobe of the tail fin is elongated and ends in a long filament. 13 Id. Although the sturgeon was once so common that it was captured commercially, it is now very rare and thought to occur only in small portions of the Alabama River channel in south Alabama, downstream to the mouth of the Tombigbee River. Id. at 26,439-40. This decline has been attributed to over-fishing, loss and fragmentation of habitat due to historical navigation-related development, and water quality degradation. Id. at 26,438. 14 The FWS initially considered whether to propose listing the sturgeon in 1980. Review of Three Southeastern Fishes, 45 Fed.Reg. 58,171 (Sept. 2, 1980). The FWS issued a proposed rule to list the Alabama sturgeon as endangered and to designate critical habitat in 1993. Proposed Endangered Status and Designation of Critical Habitat for the Alabama Sturgeon (Scaphirhynchus suttkusi), 58 Fed.Reg. 33,148 (June 15, 1993). During the public comment period on the proposed rule, businesses in Alabama became concerned about the economic impact of the listing, and the Coalition was formed to review the FWS' scientific and legal rationales for listing the sturgeon. The Coalition sued the FWS under the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), 5 U.S.C.App. 2, and obtained an injunction against the FWS preventing it from using a report prepared by a scientific committee that had been improperly convened. See generally Alabama-Tombigbee Rivers Coalition v. Dep't of Interior, 26 F.3d 1103 (11th Cir.1994) (setting forth history and affirming district court's entry of permanent injunction) [hereinafter Coalition I ]. The FWS withdrew the proposed rule in 1994 because there was insufficient information to justify listing a species that may no longer exist. Withdrawal of Proposed Rule for Endangered Status and Critical Habitat for the Alabama Sturgeon, 59 Fed. Reg. 64,794 (December 15, 1994). 15 The Coalition remained actively involved in scientific studies and conservation efforts for the Alabama sturgeon even after the FWS withdrew its proposed listing. In 1996, the Coalition initiated discussions between the FWS, the Army Corps of Engineers (the Corps), the State of Alabama, and members of Alabama's congressional delegation that led to a Voluntary Conservation Plan funded by Congress and led by the state. This plan consisted of a captive breeding program that was ultimately unsuccessful. Nevertheless, the Coalition continued to participate in and fund various studies about the species. 4 In 2000, the Coalition again worked with federal and state interests to convert the Voluntary Conservation Plan into a ten-year, eight-million-dollar, formal Conservation Agreement designed to recover the Alabama sturgeon. 16 Meanwhile, the capture of several Alabama sturgeon confirmed the species' existence, and the FWS issued another proposed rule to list the fish as an endangered species in 1999. Proposed Rule to List the Alabama Sturgeon as Endangered, 64 Fed. Reg. 14,676 (Mar. 26, 1999). After several extensions of the public comment period, the FWS published a final rule listing the Alabama sturgeon as an endangered species. Final Rule, 65 Fed.Reg. 26,438.