Action timeline

May 10, 2001 – The Center and allies petitioned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to list the Kittlitz's murrelet as endangered under the Endangered Species Act.

May 4, 2004 – The Service decided not to designate the murrelet as endangered, declaring that its listing was “warranted but precluded” and placing it on the candidate list without any federal protections.

November 8, 2005 – The Center filed suit against the Service for delaying Endangered Species Act protection for 283 imperiled species on the candidate list, including the Kittlitz's murrelet.

March 5, 2009 – The Center petitioned the Alaska Game and Fish Department to protect the Kittlitz's murrelet under the Alaska Endangered Species Act.

April 9, 2009 – The Alaska Department of Fish and Game denied our petition to protect the Kitttlitz's murrelet under the state's Endangered Species Act.

July 12, 2011 – The Center reached a landmark agreement with the Fish and Wildlife Service compelling the agency to move forward in the protection process for 757 species, including the Kittlitz's murrelet. The agreement called for a federal listing proposal by 2013.

Photo by Glen Tepke, FPWC