WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) – A nonprofit organization focused on protecting endangered species alleges two federal agencies have failed to designate habitat for a species of bumble bee listed as endangered in 2017.
Natural Resources Defense Council Inc. filed a complaint on Jan. 15 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against Acting Secretary of the Interior David L. Bernhardt, U.S. Department of the Interior, Deputy Director and Acting Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service citing the Endangered Species Act (ESA).
According to the complaint, the plaintiff alleges that the defendants have failed to designate critical habitat for the endangered rusty patched bumble bee in violation of the ESA. The suit states the defendants listed the bee as endangered in January 2017 and were required to designate critical habitat within one year of the listing determination under the ESA, but the defendants have not done so.
The plaintiff seeks judgment against the defendants to prepare and publish a final rule designating critical habitat for the bumble bee, costs and attorneys’ fees, and additional relief as the court deems just. They are represented by Lucas J. Rhoads in Washington, D.C. and Rebecca J. Riley of in Chicago, Illinois.
U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia case number 19-cv-78