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Marbled Murrelet Delisting Intervention

Case Number # 1624

The marbled murrelet is a shy, robin-sized seabird that feeds at sea but nests only in old-growth forests along the Pacific Coast. (NPS)
The marbled murrelet is a shy, robin-sized seabird that feeds at sea but nests only in old-growth forests along the Pacific Coast. (NPS)

Timber industry attorneys tried to force the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service to remove the threatened marbeled murrelet from the Endangered Species Act. Earthjustice represented several conservation groups requesting "intevenor" status in the lawsuit.

On February 2008, a federal district court rejected the timber industry's suit. In a related matter a few weeks later, the FWS announced that it would not finalize a proposal that would have slashed murrelet habitat by almost 95 percent.

In July 2008, a federal judge in Washington, D.C., and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals both ruled in favor of retaining federal Endangered Species Act protections for the marbled murrelet.

Audubon Society of Portland
Center for Biological Diversity
Conservation Northwest
Environmental Protection Information Center
Gifford Pinchot Task Force
Oregon Wild
Seattle Audubon Society
Sierra Club
The Wilderness Society
Kristen Boyles

Press Releases

Groups Join Legal Battle to Protect Rare Seabird from Timber Industry Attack
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Marbled murrelet faces extinction without protection
Fish and Wildlife Service Reverses Bush Policy, Protects Rare Seabird
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Decision one more reason to withdraw Bush Oregon logging plan
Two Rulings Protect Rare Seabird
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Marbled murrelets outmaneuver timber industry efforts to remove protections
Conservation Efforts to Protect Rare Seabird Habitat Pay Off
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Marbled murrelets and old-growth forests remain protected
Court Rejects Timber Industry Attack on Threatened Seabird
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Marbled murrelets and old-growth forests remain protected
Documents Reveal Political Meddling in Murrelet Decision
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Julie MacDonald insisted on last minute changes to undermine bird's protected status
Timber Industry Uses Draft Bush Endangered Species Act Regulations
Monday, April 30, 2007
Lawsuit seeks removal of marbled murrelet from threatened species list, elimination of old growth forests protections
Habitat Protections for Threatened Marbled Murrelet Slashed
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposes to reduce critical habitat by 94 percent
Bush Administration Moves Toward Dropping Murrelet Protections
Wednesday, September 1, 2004
Politics trumps science as government seeks to open rare old-growth forests to logging
Groups Seek to Counter Industry Attack on Threatened Birds
Monday, July 15, 2002
Timber industry challenges protection for marbled murrelet and northern spotted owl