The present dispute centers around Plaintiffs’ petition to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to list the lake sturgeon as a threatened or endangered species under 16 U.S.C. §1533. The parties agree that the Service has not complied with 16 U.S.C. §1533(b)(3), which requires the Secretary of the Interior to issue a finding related to an interested person’s petition within 12 months of receiving the petition.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service failed to meet the statutory deadline for responding to a petition to list the Lake Sturgeon as threatedned or endangered.