Litigation Update: Protecting Red Tree Voles

Preposterously adorable rodents!

We do much of our best conservation work by advocating directly to decision-makers with the support of our incredible community of activists. But when all else fails, litigation is an important tool to hold those decision-makers accountable. Last June, we launched a new lawsuit to protect red tree voles, and we had another lawsuit to protect Marbled Murrelet habitat in the Elliott State Forest come full circle with a historic victory.

Working to Protect Red Tree Voles

We joined our conservation partners to inform the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) that we intend to sue over the agency’s denial of Endangered Species Act protections to the imperiled North Oregon Coast population of red tree voles.

According to the best available science, red tree voles are preposterously adorable. These pocket-sized rodents live mostly in mature Douglas firs where they feast on the tree’s needles. North Coast voles exist in small and isolated populations that are threatened by logging and climate-change-fueled wildfires—both of which fragment their habitat and reduce their ability to disperse.

Despite acknowledging these threats, USFWS has failed to take steps to protect the species. The initial petition to protect red tree voles under the Endangered Species Act was filed in 2007. Over the last 17 years, the agency has dragged its heels, determined the species did deserve protections, changed its mind, got sued, agreed to reconsider, then once again denied protections.

We are suing to ensure that USFWS does its job to protect imperiled species. Red tree voles can’t afford more politicking and bureaucratic delays while their forest home is razed. We are joined in this effort by the Center for Biological Diversity, Cascadia Wildlands, and Oregon Wild.

By Quinn Read, Conservation Director (photo courtesy of NEST). Read the full story including an update on the Marbled Murrelet by, visiting birdallianceoregon.org