Take Prohibition

Section 9 of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) makes it unlawful for any person to "take" a listed species.  This means that it is illegal to harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect a listed species.  Harm may include any act that significantly modifies or degrades habitat where it actually kills or injures wildlife by significantly impairing essential behavioral patterns, including breeding, feeding, sheltering, spawning, rearing or migrating. 50 C.F.R. § 17.3, 222.102. States and private parties can obtain permits that allow them to cause take that is incidental to an otherwise lawful activity through the habitat conservation planning process.

PRC has sought to enforce the take prohibition where we believe that the outcome may be significantly increased regulatory protections for aquatic species.  Read more about our case against the Oregon State Forester in which we challenged the state forester for violating the ESA's take prohibition by approving harmful forest practices on private lands.  The State did not have a Habitat Conservation Plan for these activities.