US Fish and Wildlife Service Reconsiders Protection for Kirtland’s Snake After Lawsuit Filed by Abrams Environmental Law Clinic
Midwest’s Imperiled Kirtland’s Snake Gets Second Chance at Endangered Species Act Protection
In a legal victory for the Center for Biological Diversity and Hoosier Environmental Council, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agreed today to reconsider Endangered Species Act protections for the Midwest’s imperiled Kirtland’s snake by June 30, 2026.
“I’m so glad the pretty Kirtland’s snake is getting another shot at badly needed protections,” said Noah Greenwald, endangered species director at the Center for Biological Diversity. “The wetlands that Kirtland’s snakes need are mostly gone and continue to disappear. Protecting these little snakes and their homes will benefit them and it’ll help people, too.”
The groups, represented by the Abrams Environmental Law Clinic at the University of Chicago, challenged the Service’s 2017 decision to deny protecting the snakes as either endangered or threatened.
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“The Clinic welcomes the Service’s agreement to reconsider the Kirtland’s snake’s status under the Endangered Species Act, as the snake and the wetlands it inhabits are in desperate need of more protections,” said Lee Place, a student law clerk at the Clinic. “We were pleased to represent the Center and the Council in achieving this important outcome.”
Read more at Center for Biological Diversity