Joshua Tree National Park, California. casey kiernan / Moment / Getty Images By Julia Conley A federal court in Los Angeles this week ruled that under former President Donald Trump, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service violated the law when it failed to list the Joshua tree as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act — a decision that the Biden administration has continued to defend. The U.S. District Court in the Central District of California said in its ruling on Monday that the USFWS now has one year to reconsider its decision and must take into account all scientific evidence, including climate change models, when deciding whether the Joshua tree should be protected under the ESA. WildEarth Guardians — which first filed a petition to ensure the tree was protected in 2015 and launched a legal challenge after the service declined to list the species in 2019 — called the ruling “groundbreaking” and “a monumental step forward for the Joshua tree.” The Court order now directs the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to reconsider its decision, taking into account the… https://t.co/SvxWDPYkq7 — WildEarth Guardians (@WildEarth Guardians) 1632329462.0 The ruling also has implications “for all climate-imperiled species whose […]
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