Defenders' Experts
Protecting the Pygmy Owl
Date Filed: 01/09/2001
Case Status: Closed
National Association of Home Builders v. Kempthorne
Species Background
The Arizona population of the cactus ferruginous pygmy-owl is critically imperiled and was listed as an endangered species in 1997. FWS’s decision to list the Arizona population as an endangered species was based on substantial information demonstrating that the pygmy-owl’s very existence in the southwestern United States was threatened by loss of habitat and the lack of any regulatory mechanisms to preserve that habitat. At the time of listing, there were fewer than 30 known members of the species in existence in Arizona. A 2002 study found just 18 individual pygmy-owls remaining in Arizona, a 50 percent decline from the 36 pygmy-owls detected in 2001. Given the pygmy-owl’s ever-worsening status in Arizona and the reasons for its decline, the population’s extirpation from the United States is imminent. Unfortunately, the Home Builders industry successfully sued to remove the owl from the endangered species list and the Arizona population currently lacks federal protection.
Case background
Defenders of Wildlife has a long history of involvement with the listing of the pygmy-owl. We were part of a coalition of conservation organizations that petitioned FWS to list the pygmy-owl as an endangered species on May 26, 1992. After several lawsuits to force compliance with the deadlines of the ESA, FWS listed the Arizona population of the pygmy-owl as an endangered species on March 10, 1997. The Home Builders challenged the listing and critical habitat, and after a series of court decisions, ultimately prevailed in the Ninth Circuit in 2008. Although the owl’s imperiled status was never contested, the case turned on whether the Arizona population itself was a listable entity under the ESA.
In the last few years, new evidence has emerged that shows the pygmy-owl is also declining in northern Mexico. Genetics research has shed further light on the owl’s proper taxonomy. This research shows that the Arizona population is part of a broader Sonoran population that is genetically distinct from the western subspecies and would qualify as a Distinct Population Segment under the ESA.
On March 15, 2007, in light of the delisting of the Arizona population and this new scientific information, Defenders and the Center for Biological Diversity filed a new petition to list the greater Sonoran population as endangered under the ESA. FWS issued a 90-day finding on June 2, 2008, recommending relisting the owl. FWS has yet to make a final decision.
Co-filers:
Center for Biological Diversity, Friends of the Owls
