Once again, a judge has entered an endangered species listing debate, turning the tables against California’s wildlife agency in ruling for more scrutiny.
The judge overturned a decision by wildlife regulators to reject a petition to give protected status to the California tiger salamander.
Sacramento Superior Court Judge Lloyd G. Connelly ordered the state’s Fish and Game Commission to conduct a 12-month review to determine whether to list the yellow-and-black amphibian as an endangered or threatened species.
Connelly said the commission “misstated or ignored substantial evidence” and “relied on conflicting information of doubtful scientific value” when it voted 3-2 two years ago to reject the petition to list the salamander under the California Endangered Species Act.
Read the whole Associated Press article here.