Conservation Groups Threaten Lawsuit Over Cotthroat

Three conservation groups have challenged the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's decision to not protect the Yellowstone cutthroat trout under the Endangered Species Act.

The Biodiversity Conservation Alliance, the Center for Biological Diversity and the Pacific Rivers Council have filed a 60-day notice to sue, calling the agency's denial of federal protection for the fish a violation of the act, the Associated Press reported May 3.

"It's well known and acknowledged that the species has declined and is facing a multitude of threats," said Noah Greenwald, a conservation biologist with the Center for Biological Diversity.

The groups say degradation of habitat and replacement by non-native trout have wiped Yellowstone cutthroat trout from a large portion of the historic range of the fish in parts of Montana, Idaho and Wyoming, including Yellowstone National Park, and small parts of Nevada and Utah.

Fish and Wildlife has twice said in recent years that the fish did not warrant protection. In response to a 1998 petition, the agency determined the request did not present substantial information to justify listing. Conservationists challenged that decision, later overturned by a federal judge, who in late 2004 ordered Fish and Wildlife to do a 12-month status review.

That review led to this year's determination, which conservationists argue violates the Endangered Species Act, because it did not rely on the best available science. They assert that the agency failed to list the trout "despite the fact that it is endangered in a significant portion of its range."

Fish and Wildlife stands behind its finding, said Diane Katzenberger, a regional spokeswoman for Fish and Wildlife. A status assessment found "stable, viable and self-sustaining populations of the fish are widely distributed throughout its historic range." Officials acknowledge there had been a decline, but the status of the trout and trends indicate that the species is "not declining further or in jeopardy of going extinct in the foreseeable future."

Officials will continue to monitor the fish and their situation, she said.

The groups may withdraw the lawsuit if Fish and Wildlife revokes its finding.

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