'Steller' Protection of the Western Distinct Population Segment: Alaska v. Lubchenco

摘要

The Ninth Circuit used Alaska v. Lubchenco as an opportunity to emphasize the ESA's distinct, but mutually reinforcing, goals: survival and recovery. The Lubchenco court deferred to NMFS's determination that . continued cod and mackerel fishing would inhibit the wDPS's survival and recovery. In so holding, the court adopted the ESA's statutory language, rather than the regulation's interpretation. Adopting this interpretation affected other courts, and refocused the importance of delisting species from the ESA, rather than ensuring the mere continued existence of those species.