"Judge Stays Settlement Over Hundreds of Endangered Species"

"In response to opposition by the Center for Biological Diversity, U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan has stayed approval of a settlement agreement between WildEarth Guardians and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service until June 20 and ordered all parties, including the Center, back into mediation.

WildEarth Guardians reached a settlement with the agency May 10 to potentially move 839 imperiled species toward federal protection, including final protection decisions for 251 species that have been stuck on the "candidate" list, many for decades.

But the Center objected that the agreement was too weak, too vague and ultimately unenforceable.

The Center also objected to the fact that 87 percent of Endangered Species Act petitions affected by the agreement were petitioned or litigated by the Center and so needed to be resolved with the Center's approval."

Environment News Service had the story May 19, 2011.