BUTTE — Legal battles began in 1991 about whether the small populations of fluvial Arctic grayling in the Big Hole River and upper Madison River Basin deserve protections under the federal Endangered Species Act. A boxed set of related court filings, appeals and rulings, of biological studies and findings, of op-ed laments and more would give Atlas a run for his muscles. Now, a 53-page ruling from a federal district court judge in Missoula has sent the weighty decision back to the U.
S. Fish and Wildlife Service for yet another look. Judge Dana Christensen's order, dated Aug.
6, vacated a 2020 finding by the Fish and Wildlife Service that the fluvial, or river-dwelling, Arctic grayling in the upper Missouri River Basin did not warrant listing under the Endangered Species Act. His ruling directed the service "to make a new finding as to the status of the upper Missouri River Basin distinct population segment of Arctic grayling within 12 months of the date of this order." Under the Endangered Species Act, a "distinct population segment" is a population or group of populations discrete from other populations of the species and significant in relation to the entire species.
Christensen's order does not mean, of course, that the Fish and Wildlife Service will return within 12 months with a finding that the grayling warrants listing. Joe Szuszwalak, a spokesman for the service, said the agency "is reviewing the decision and declines to comment on litigation." Native populations of.