Legal Pursuits
The John Muir Project goes to court to enforce federal environmental laws, including the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the National Forest Management Act (NFMA), and the Endangered Species Act (ESA), in order to protect rare and imperiled wildlife species and their habitat.
Current Litigation
Lawsuit Against Post-Fire Logging of Rim Fire
Forest Service hides data about California Spotted Owl occupancy in large Rim Fire Area. Lawsuit filed to protect over 60 resident owls and prevent further population declines.
CESA Lawsuit to Protect the Black-Backed Woodpecker
California Fish and Game Commission fail to list the Black-backed Woodpecker under the California Endangered Species Act. Litigation begins to establish protections for this species and its habitat.
Listing Petitions
Federal Endangered Species Act
Black-Backed Woodpecker
Protections needed for the California/Oregon and Black Hills populations of the rare and fire-dependent Black-Backed Woodpecker. Petition filed under the Federal Endangered Species Act to list these subspecies as threatened in May of 2012.
California Spotted Owl
California Spotted Owl populations plummeting due to mechanical “thinning” and post-fire logging in the Sierra Nevada. Petition filed under the Federal Endangered Species Act to list the species as threatened in December of 2014.
California Endangered Species Act
Black-Backed Woodpecker
Thousands of acres of post-fire habitat on private and state lands necessary to maintain populations of Black-backed Woodpeckers are lost to logging every year. Petition filed under the California Endangered Species Act to list the Black-backed as threatened in 2010.