Last month, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) proposed a new rule to revise the critical habitat for the Southern Resident killer whale (Orcinus orca) in the Northeast Pacific Ocean. The proposed rule comes at a time when the species’ population size is at a historic low. In 1995, the highest census count for the species was 98.
On September 25, seventeen states from California to Massachusetts filed a complaint in federal court against the Trump administration hoping to stop recent regulatory revisions meant to substantially change how Endangered Species Act (ESA) protections are considered and enforced. The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, follows a similar challenge by several environmental groups, including the Humane Society and Sierra Club, filed in August.