Action timeline

September 1, 2011 – WildEarth Guardians submitted a petition to protect the black-capped petrel under the Endangered Species Act because of its small population and threats to its survival. The Act required the Service to determine whether listing the black-capped petrel as threatened or endangered was warranted no later than one year after receiving the petition.

April 13, 2015 – The Center filed a notice of its intent to sue the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service over the agency's failure to determine if endangered species protections for the black-capped petrels are warranted.

June 22, 2015 – The Center sued Interior Secretary Sally Jewell and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, seeking declaratory and injunctive relief over their failure to consider Endangered Species Act protections for the black-capped petrel. 

Black-capped petrel photo courtesy Flickr/Patrick Coin