SF Baykeeper Intends to Sue Feds for Missing Congressional Deadline to Protect Longfin Smelt

Oakland, California—On October 11, San Francisco Baykeeper put the US Fish and Wildlife Service on notice that the environmental advocacy organization intends to sue the agency for for violating the Endangered Species Act by missing a Congressional deadline for the listing of the longfin smelt.

“The agency proposed listing the SF Bay-Delta population of longfin smelt as an endangered species in 2022, but it has failed to meet a deadline established by Congress in the ESA to make a final listing determination or to designate what counts as critical habitat for the imperiled fish,” the organization said in a statement.