The Center for Biological Diversity to hold the government accountable for allegedly violating the Endangered Species Act by not acting on a 2014 petition filed by CBD that sought to expand “critical habitat” areas for the orcas from Puget Sound waters to include the coastline down to near San Francisco.The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Seattle, names the National Marine Fisheries Service, its West Coast regional administrator, and the U.S. secretary of Commerce as defendants. It said the Fisheries Service had agreed in February 2015 that expanding the protection zone for the orcas was “warranted,” but has since failed to take action, putting the orcas at greater risk of extinction. Click here to read a Seattle Times article about the lawsuit.
