A federal judge has determined that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service illegally rejected a request by conservation groups to
protect the Yellowstone cutthroat trout under the Endangered Species
Act.
The federal agency must undertake a 12 month review of the
species and then reconsider the petition, according to the ruling by
U.S. District Court Judge Phillip Figa.
Noah Greenwald, conservation biologist for the Center for
Biological Diversity, hailed the decision as a "huge victory."
"The Fish and Wildlife Service turned their back on science and
the court rightly turned them around," Greenwald said.
Under the Endangered Species Act, the agency must review a
petition for listing within 90 days to determine if there is enough
information to merit final consideration.
In 2001 - some three years after the petition was submitted - the
federal agency said it lacked "substantial biological information"
to warrant further consideration. 
In 2003, whirling disease decimated Yellowstone cutthroat trout
in Pelican Creek, the principal spawning tributary of Yellowstone
Lake that supported as many as 30,000 fish in the 1980s.
(Photo courtesy Idaho State
University)
The coalition of conservation
groups filed suit and told the court the Fish and Wildlife Service's
decision ignored evidence that the species has been extirpated in
some 60 to 90 percent of its historic range and is imperiled across
the remaining swath of its natural habitat.
Yellowstone cutthroat's range once included portions of southern
Montana, northwestern Wyoming, southeastern Idaho, and northern
Nevada and Utah.
The species faces a multitude of threats, including non-native
trout, habitat degradation, population fragmentation and disease.
A bright yellow, orange, and red fish, the Yellowstone cutthroat
trout is generally distinguishable from other inland subspecies
cutthroats by the particular pattern of black spots that appears on
the fish's body.
Figa ruled the conclusion of the federal agency illogical given
the "substantial scientific and commercial information" that
indicated protection could be warranted.
The available evidence "credibly indicates that listing of the
Yellowstone cutthroat trout as a threatened species is warranted
because of loss of habitat," Figa wrote in the opinion.
The Denver judge also ruled that the Fish and Wildlife Service
violated the Endangered Species Act by inviting comments on the
listing petition only from state and federal agencies.
The agency is required to consult "with all parties with relevant
information before a determination is made," Figa wrote. "... an
implicit assumption of the Endangered Species Act is that going
through the right processes helps to ensure the right result."
The judge also rejected the federal agency's bid to justify its
decision based on voluntary conservation agreements formed with
state governments.
When it announced its decision, the Fish and Wildlife Service
cited some 100 federal and state projects directed toward protecting
the species and its habitat.
"Conservation happens on the ground, not on paper," said Mike
Harris, an attorney with Earthjustice, which represented the
coalition in the case. "The Fish and Wildlife Service unlawfully
bought into the state's wait and see approach to conservation, which
has done nothing to rescue fish, plants, and wildlife from the brink
of extinction." 
The trout provide an important food source for many other
species, including the grizzly. (Photo courtesy National
Park Service)
The coalition includes The
Center for Biological Diversity, Biodiversity Conservation Alliance,
Ecology Center and Pacific Rivers Council.
Greenwald said the fate of the Yellowstone cutthroat is
intimately linked to the health of the remaining wild lands of the
northern rockies.
The fish is a food source for "at least 42 other species ...
including the grizzly bear, bald eagle, white pelican, otter, black
bear, mink, osprey and loon."
"There is no doubt that this fish plays a key role in
contributing to the overall health of the all the wild species in
and around Yellowstone and that is why we are working to protect and
recover them," Greenwald said.
Judge Orders U.S. to Review
Yellowstone Cutthroat Status 
DENVER,
Colorado, December 23, 2004 (ENS) - A federal judge has
determined the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service illegally
rejected a request by conservation groups to protect the
Yellowstone cutthroat trout under the Endangered Species Act.
The federal agency must undertake a 12-month review of the
species and then reconsider the petition, according to the
ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Phillip Figa. >>more
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