Court Upholds Service's Southwestern Willow Flycatcher Listing Decision

On February 28, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia upheld the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's (Service) denial of a petition filed by the New Mexico Cattle Growers' Association (Cattle Growers) urging the Service to remove the southwestern willow flycatcher (Empidonax traillii extimus) (flycatcher) from the list of endangered species (Petition). The Cattle Growers had argued that the Service's denial of the Petition, and specifically the agency's finding that the flycatcher is a valid subspecies of the unlisted willow flycatcher, violated the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and Administrative Procedure Act.

The flycatcher breeds in the southwestern United States and migrates to Latin America for the winter. According to the flycatcher's listing rule, the species is a subspecies of the willow flycatcher—a species not listed as endangered or threatened under the ESA—and is endangered primarily as the result of loss and degradation of nesting