Three conservation organizations filed a lawsuit against the federal government for violating the Endangered Species Act by failing to protect two sea turtle species, including leatherback turtles that live off the coast of Oregon.
The lawsuit names the National Marine Fisheries Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for failing to meet a 12-month legal deadline to respond to three separate petitions focusing on turtle populations on the East and West Coasts.
"Procrastination by the Fisheries Service simply means that more and more turtles are being caught and killed," said Ben Enticknap, Pacific project manager for Oceana, which joined the Center for Biological Diversity and the Sea Turtle Restoration Project in the lawsuit. "Their legal and moral responsibility can only be fulfilled by moving quickly to establish protections for those imperiled species."