Judge - Norton, Interior Must Immediately Designate Owl Habitat [View All]

TUCSON, Ariz. — A federal judge has ordered Interior Secretary Gale Norton to comply immediately with an earlier order to redesignate critical habitat for the threatened Mexican spotted owl.

U.S. District Judge David Bury dismissed Interior Department arguments that it should not be required to make such a designation, required under the Endangered Species Act, until Congress appropriates enough money.

In his order, Bury cited an appellate court ruling that found "the United States may not evade the law simply by failing to appropriate enough money to comply with it."

EDIT

Bury castigated the Interior Department for failing to designate critical habitat for the owl in Arizona and New Mexico since it was listed as a threatened species a decade ago. Critical habitat provides safeguards for the species and places restrictions on human activity that could harm it. The department "has spent the past 10 years thwarting the stated purpose of the (Endangered Species Act) by refusing to designate critical habitat," Bury wrote."

EDIT

http://www.enn.com/news/2003-10-15/s_9429.asp