Free Republic

The dusky gopher frog is a critter that can be found in certain areas of Mississippi — and nowhere else. Yet the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service decided to “protect” the dusky gopher frog by using the Endangered Species Act to designate a 1,500-acre tract of private forestry land in Louisiana as “critical habitat necessary for the species’ survival,” even though the land is not inhabited by the frog, and is in fact unsuitable for the species. Naturally, the owners objected — the economic hit would have been up to $34 million, though the FWS refused to take that into...

Uncertain of rules on NR, but had to post this

The federal government can’t designate land as a habitat for an endangered species on the mere prospect that the species might eventually move there, the Supreme Court ruled Tuesday, delivering a victory to property owners. In a unanimous ruling the justices rejected the federal government’s attempt to designate roughly 1,500 acres in Louisiana as critical space for the dusky gopher frog.