Judge orders could help Southern California endangered species

A judge has ruled that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries violated the Endangered Species Act in their biological opinions for managing four Southern California forests covering 3.2 million acres.

In her ruling on a lawsuit brought by a coalition of environmental groups, Judge Marilyn Patel of the U.S. District Court of Northern California said the opinions failed to include protective measures such as monitoring systems required to determine the effects of land-use decisions on endangered plants and animals in the Los Angeles, Cleveland, Los Padres and San Bernardino forests.

Environmentalists praised Patel’s determination as an important victory for 40 threatened and endangered species, including the California condor and steelhead trout.

Read the rest at Greenspace, The Times' environmental blog.

--Louis Sahagun