Save Upper Echo Lake

More than 30 months after the Fish and Wildlife Service issued a proposed rule designating critical habitat for the endangered Sierra Nevada yellow-legged frog, the agency has yet to issue a final rule.  In the meantime, the Forest Service opposes designation of lands it holds in trust for the American people as critical habitat, even where they constitute habitat for the species.

A number of blog posts on this site address the failure of the Forest Service to respond to a FOIA request for a narrow set of e-mail communications made more than a year ago.  Although this Administration has committed to open government consistent with FOIA, its track record is checkered, like the previous Administration's.  The Forest Service's conduct reinforces the need for open government and checks and balances so that over-zealous bureaucrats can be held to account for their conduct.  Folks interested in open government might be interested in the FOIA blog .