On August 6, 2018, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit granted a petition setting aside an Incidental Take Statement (ITS) of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) which had been issued under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in connection with the approval of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, a 600-mile natural gas pipeline proposed to run through parts of West Virginia, Virginia and North Carolina. Sierra Club, et al., v. U.S. Dep’t of the Interior, Nos. 18-1082 & 18-1083 (4th Cir. Aug. 6, 2018). Continue reading “Fourth Circuit Vacates Incidental Take Statement for Gas Pipeline”
Grizzly Bear “Taking” Conviction Reversed by 9th Circuit
On June 26, 2018, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed the conviction of a Montana man who had been convicted of a criminal violation of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) for shooting and killing a grizzly bear that was harassing the horses in a pasture behind the defendant’s rural home. United States v. Charette, ___ F.3d ___, No. 17-30059 (9th Cir. June 26, 2018). The government had charged the defendant with one count of “taking” a threatened species in violation of the ESA. The defendant was convicted in a bench trial before a magistrate judge, and the conviction was affirmed by the district court. Continue reading “Grizzly Bear “Taking” Conviction Reversed by 9th Circuit”