San Francisco- The Center for Biological Diversity, Sierra Forest Legacy, Environmental Protection Information Center, and Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center filed a formal notice of intent to sue the Department of the Interior Thursday over its failure to protect the Pacific fisher - a relative of the mink and otter that has been decimated by historic fur trapping and logging of old-growth forests. Following a petition from the groups, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service acknowledged in 2004 that the fisher warranted protection under the Endangered Species Act, but has yet to provide that protection, arguing that it lacks protection resources. The groups' notice asserts that continued delay of protection for the fisher is illegal because the Service is failing to make sufficient progress listing species that are waiting for protection.

"The fisher and hundreds of other species have been waiting too long for protection," said Noah Greenwald, endangered species program director at the Center for Biological Diversity. "The failure to protect the fisher is nothing but foot dragging."

The fisher is one of 249 species that are designated as candidates for listing as endangered species - a designation that in itself provides no protection. Many have been waiting decades for protection and most are gravely endangered. Although lack of resources is the purported reason for delaying protection for these species, the Obama administration has proposed to cut funding for listing of endangered species by 5 percent. To date, the administration has only protected two species under the Endangered Species Act. By comparison, the Clinton administration protected an average of 65 species per year.

"Secretary Salazar is not prioritizing protection of endangered species," said Greenwald. "With threats from habitat loss, pollution, invasive species, and climate change all on the rise, budget cuts are the last thing the nation's endangered species need."

The fisher once roamed from British Columbia to the southern Sierra. It has now been reduced to two native populations - one in the southern Sierra Nevada and one in Northern California and extreme southwestern Oregon and an introduced population in the southern Oregon Cascades. These populations continue to be threatened by logging.

"The Pacific fisher has been devastated by a combination of historic fur trapping and logging of its old-growth forest habitats," said Craig Thomas, executive director of Sierra Forest Legacy. "Without adequate protection measures on private and federal lands, the fisher will go extinct."

Contact Info: Noah Greenwald, (503) 484-7495
Craig Thomas, (530) 622-8718

Website : Center for Biological Diversity