Legal threat over lithium mine in rare Nevada flower habitat
Conservationists have put federal wildlife officials on notice they're ready to take them back to court in a three-year-long fight over endangered species protection for a rare wildflower in Nevada
RENO, Nev. (AP) — Conservationists who won a court order against U.S. wildlife officials say they'll sue them again failing to protect a Nevada wildflower whose last remaining habitat could be destroyed by a lithium mine.
The Center for Biological Diversity filed a formal 60-day notice this week of its intent to sue the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for missing this month's deadline to finalize its year-old proposal to add Tiehm’s buckwheat to the list of endangered species.
The service concluded in its Oct. 7, 2021 proposal that the desert wildflower — which is only known to exist where the mine is planned half-way between Reno and Las Vegas — was in danger of going extinct.
Under federal law, the agency had one year to issue a final rule listing the 6-inch-tall-flower with yellow blooms, or explain why it had decided against taking such action.
