Key deadline could impact mine battle
RENO — A federal judge has given the Fish and Wildlife Service just weeks to make an overdue decision on whether to formally propose endangered species protection for a rare desert wildflower at the center of a fight over a proposed lithium mine in Nevada.
Conservationists say the rare order issued last week in Las Vegas is a significant victory that underscores the critical condition of the Tiehm’s buckwheat, which they say is on the brink of extinction.
“The situation with the buckwheat truly is an emergency, and the judge recognized that,” said Noah Greenwald, endangered species director for the Center for Biological Diversity, which has been demanding protection of the plant since the listing petition was filed October 2019.
The agency was supposed to decide last October whether or not to propose protection under the Endangered Species Act. It had said staff and budgetary constraints would prevent it from deciding until Sept. 30, 2021.
On Wednesday, Judge James Mahan ordered a decision be made within 30 days.
“By its own admission, FWS has violated the ESA by failing to issue a timely 12month finding as to whether it intends to list Tiehm’s buckwheat as an endangered species,” he wrote. “This court finds no reason to grant additional time for FWS to make its admittedly overdue finding.”
The wildflower is found only on 10 acres at Rhyolite Ridge, where the Canadian mining company, Ioneer Ltd., wants to dig for lithium and boron on federal land 220 miles southeast of Reno. Lithium is a key element for batteries that power many electric cars and portable electronics.
Ioneer has been committed from the beginning to “producing a firstclass project that allows for the development of a critical supply of lithium, while also ensuring the protection” of the plant, Ioneer Managing Director Bernard Rowe said in a statement.
“We are confident that the science strongly supports the coexistence of our vital lithium operation and Tiehm’s buckwheat,” he said.
Mahan noted the U.S. Bureau of Land Management already has designated the plant as a sensitive species, and the state is considering listing it as a “fully protected species.”
Greenwald said species typically haven’t received Endangered Species Act protection unless conservationists petition for a listing or file lawsuits demanding such action.
“The agency basically has to be forced to do their job. That’s been the case for a long time now,” said Greenwald, who has been helping prepare such lawsuits for more than 20 years.
“Usually when we bring these ‘deadline’ suits, the Fish and Wildlife Service offers us a date and we agree and there’s a settlement. In this case, we felt there was such an emergency here, that immediate action needed to happen. We weren’t willing to settle for some date in the future,” he said.