Lawsuit Seeks Lifesaving Protections for Montana’s Arctic Grayling

[UngulateNerd92]

Big Hole River Needs Curbs on Irrigation Withdrawals for Grayling to Survive

Conservationists sued the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today seeking protections for Montana’s Arctic grayling population under the Endangered Species Act. The parties — the Center for Biological Diversity, Western Watersheds Project and Butte resident Pat Munday — are represented by Earthjustice.

Once found throughout the upper Missouri River drainage above Great Falls, native populations of Montana’s Arctic grayling are now mostly limited to a short stretch of the Big Hole River and a few small lakes in Montana. Extensive withdrawals from the Big Hole River reduce river levels to a trickle every summer and threaten the graylings’ survival. A conservation agreement implemented by the state has, to date, not restored summer flows sufficiently to sustain grayling.

“Montana will lose this beautiful fish without more water in the Big Hole River,” said Kristine Akland, senior Northern Rockies attorney at the Center. “It’s well past time for the Arctic grayling to be protected under the Endangered Species Act.”

Lawsuit Seeks Lifesaving Protections for Montana’s Arctic Grayling

 

[KevinB]

You accidentally linked the Sahara article at the bottom of the post.

 

[UngulateNerd92]

You accidentally linked the Sahara article at the bottom of the post.

I just fixed it.

 

[UngulateNerd92]

Here is a relevant article from the Billings Gazette.

Plaintiffs seek federal protections for Big Hole grayling

They threatened in October to sue the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and now they have.

The lawsuit seeks protections under the Endangered Species Act for Montana’s population of Arctic grayling, with special focus on the river-dwelling grayling in the Big Hole River and the alleged impact of irrigation withdrawals.

It’s a battle that’s been fought before, but the parties filing the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Butte say climate change has upped the ante.

Plaintiffs seek federal protections for Big Hole grayling

 

[UngulateNerd92]

Here is a relevant article from the Montana Free Press.

Groups seek federal protections for Arctic grayling

In a Jan. 30 lawsuit, environmentalists allege the federal government has been overly optimistic in its assessment of the fish’s viability on the Big Hole River

Environmentalists seeking federal protections for the Arctic grayling are challenging the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s 2020 decision not to list the Big Hole River-dwelling fish as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act.

Monday’s legal filing by the Center for Biological Diversity, Western Watersheds Project and Butte resident Pay Munday is the most recent chapter in a decades-long saga over the management of Arctic grayling, which were once widespread throughout the upper Missouri River basin and are now found almost exclusively in southwest Montana’s Big Hole and Ruby rivers.

Groups seek federal protections for Arctic grayling

 

[UngulateNerd92]

Here is a relevant article from the Bozeman Daily Chronicle.

Groups sue feds over Montana Arctic grayling protections

Environmental groups have sued the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service over its 2020 decision to not give Montana’s Arctic grayling federal protections.

The Center for Biological Diversity, Western Watersheds Project and Butte angler Pat Munday filed the complaint in federal court in Butte on Monday, seeking to vacate the federal agency’s 2020 decision.

The complaint argues the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service erred in its 2020 finding that grayling aren’t warranted for protections under the Endangered Species Act. It argues grayling face threats from climate change and that voluntary conservation efforts aren’t enough to ensure the species’ long-term survival.

Groups sue feds over Montana Arctic grayling protections