Action timeline

March 4, 1999 – The Center and Christians Caring for Creation sued the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for failing to designate critical habitat for the Steller's eider, resulting in a court ruling that required the agency to designate critical habitat within a year.

March 13, 2000 – The Service proposed the designation of 25,000 square miles as critical habitat for the Steller's eider.

February 2, 2001 –The Service granted this bird final critical habitat protection for approximately 2,800 square miles of ocean and 850 miles of Alaska coastline. Areas in the Beaufort Sea and in the National Petroleum Reserve were excluded from the final designation. The Center continues to work to protect these areas.

2006 – The Center, in coalition with Earthjustice and other conservation groups, won a lawsuit overturning a proposal to open Teshekpuk Lake to oil drilling.

July 2, 2007 – The Center filed suit to block oil leasing in important eider habitat in the Beaufort, Chukchi, and Bering seas.

August 15, 2007 – A coalition of six environmental organizations, including the Center, blocked Shell Oil from initiating offshore oil exploration near the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge until a court decides whether potential environmental impacts were given full consideration. The area is home to a number of threatened species, including the Steller's eider.

Stellers eider photo by Ron Knight