US Supreme Court won't hear prairie dog protections lawsuit
Source: Associated Press
US Supreme Court won’t hear prairie dog protections lawsuit
By LINDSAY WHITEHURST
13 minutes ago
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear an appeal from residents of a small Utah city challenging endangered-species protections for prairie dogs, but the plaintiffs say their case alleging that their community has been overrun by the animals has made a mark as the Trump administration moves to loosen the rules preventing people from shooting or moving the animals.
The lawsuit was a key driver of the new federal plan that would make it easier to remove or kill prairie dogs when they interfere with development of homes and business, lawyers for the residents of the southwestern city of Cedar City said Monday.
Attorney Jonathan Wood said his clients were disappointed the Supreme Court declined to hear the case on Monday, but heartened by the new plan from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service introduced last month.
“That is solely due to the lawsuit and is a far better result for prairie dogs than the decades of conflict generated under heavy-handed federal regulation,” Wood said in an email.
Animal activists, though, say the administration’s proposed rollback of protections for the threatened Utah prairie dogs would be a death warrant for animals when they’re found on private land. They’re considered key to the ecosystem because their burrows turn up the soil and can be used as homes by other animals. They’re also an important food source for predators.
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Read more: https://apnews.com/7f1cc13cb9cf4bdca77233f05072f23f/US-Supreme-Court-won't-hear-prairie-dog-protections-lawsuit
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