In November 2007, conservationists asked the federal government to declare the loggerhead sea turtle, a summer fixture in Virginia coastal waters, an endangered species.
They have yet to receive an answer.
So today, lawyers from three national advocacy groups are expected to sue the National Marine Fisheries Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service over the matter.
They hope a judge will order the two agencies to complete their studies and say once and for all whether the loggerhead is truly endangered or whether it should remain a federally threatened species.