On December 21, 2021, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) officially published the final listing rule for the Hermes copper butterfly (Lycaena [Hermelycaena] hermes), designating it as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). As the species is endemic to San Diego County and northern Baja California, Mexico, the final rule designates
To address and reverse global effects caused by a rapidly changing climate, various industries have emerged that are leading efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions though alternative energy production. However, sometimes alternative energy projects which are focused on issues global in scale, run into issues protecting sensitive narrow endemic plant species at the local scale
Have you ever wondered where the Paleo diet comes from? At its best, the idea behind it comes from the analysis of a global database of hunter-gatherer diets. At its worst, it comes from imaginary notions that all our ancestors ate meat, all the time. In reality, research from around the world reveals that, on
Dudekians Micah Hale, PhD (Senior Project Manager) and Loukas Barton (Archaeologist) were both students of Robert L. Bettinger, and this year, the Center for Archaeological Research at Davis published Cowboy Ecologist: Essays in Honor of Robert L. Bettinger a collection of articles in his honor, two of which are authored by Dr. Hale and Barton,
On an afternoon in Redwood City, California in 2002, Dr. Stu Weiss documented the last Bay Checkerspot butterfly to fly in Edgewood Preserve. The butterfly was extinct from the area. Following its extinction, Dr. Weiss was determined to change the butterfly’s fate and understand what caused its massive collapse from an area where it used
Several federal and state entities have enacted or proposed rule revisions in the past year, which may affect your projects. Read on to find out how. Enacted Rule Revisions Rule revisions to the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) by the Department of the Interior (DOI) and to the Clean Water Rule by the U.S. Army
On July 25, 2018, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) published three proposed rules in the Federal Register that would substantially revise regulations implementing portions of the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA). The three rules pertain to (1) the level of protection for Threatened species, (2) regulations for
USFWS Reinterprets MBTA Section 2 of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) makes it unlawful to “take” (hunt, pursue, capture, injure, kill, or attempt to do so) a wide variety of migratory birds, except as permitted by regulations (16 U.S.C. § 703). The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) has consistently interpreted Section 2 as
After a nationwide implementation delay spanning more than 3 years, the 2015 Clean Water Rule became law in late August 2018 in 22 states (including California) as well as the District of Columbia and the U.S. territories. Wetland delineations in all participating states must now follow the 2015 rule. The 2015 rule was published by
After decades of road and rail development obstructed the natural habitat of the Middle Martis wetland, Dudek and our native habitat construction subsidiary Habitat Restoration Sciences Inc. (HRS) worked with the Truckee River Watershed Council to restore the area to a lush meadow of native wildlife. The wetland restoration at the 60-acre site in the
