Environmentalists sued the Fish and Wildlife Service Wednesday for missing a deadline over whether to provide Endangered Species Act protections to Olympic marmots.
Citing existential threats that include climate change and predatory coyotes, the Center for Biological Diversity filed a petition in May 2024 asking the federal agency to list the species as threatened or endangered. The Fish and Wildlife Service then missed the deadlines for making an ESA decision, according to the new lawsuit.
“These adorable Pacific Northwest marmots need Endangered Species Act protections because not even the mighty Olympic Mountains can shield them from climate change and coyotes,” said Aaron Kunkler, with the Center for Biological Diversity. “Protecting Olympic marmots will also make sure the beautiful alpine meadows they call home survive into the future.”
The missed-deadline lawsuit filed in Seattle’s federal courthouse catches the Fish and Wildlife Service where it is often most vulnerable, as the Endangered Species Act sets out a series of deadlines in black and white.
