The Fish and Wildlife Service has agreed to reconsider whether a freshwater mussel called the brook floater warrants Endangered Species Act protections.
In a court settlement with environmentalists and a law school clinic, the federal agency committed to a do-over of its 2019 determination that the brook floater did not qualify for listing as threatened or endangered. The settlement calls for completion of an updated status assessment by Aug. 30, 2029.
“The Endangered Species Act remains one of the most effective tools for preventing extinction of imperiled species, so it is encouraging to see the brook floater getting another look,” said Conor Dorn, a third-year student at the University of Chicago Law School, in a statement.
Dorn is a member of the school’s Abrams Environmental Law Clinic, which represented the Center for Biological Diversity in the lawsuit.
