VS
Palila
vs State of Hawaii
Department of Land and Natural
Resources
The suits were brought on by the Sierra Club and Hawaii Audubon Society, but
they listed the plaintiff as the Palila bird.
It was the first time in American
legal history that a non-human was listed as a plaintiff in a court case.
The Palila
bird is a finch-billed member of the Hawaiian Honeycreeper family
(Drepanididae) and is found only in Hawaii, the big island. It has been classified as an endangered species
since 1967 and the number is dangerously close to the bird's extinction level.
The Palila's
critical habitat was officially designated in 1977. An ecological court case pertaining to the Palila and
the Māmane-Naio ecosystem of Mauna Kea
stems from the introduction of
goats and sheep onto Hawaiʻi island in the late 18th century, which became feral
and damaged the local ecosystem. The animals feed on Māmane leaves, stems, seedlings and sprouts, and prevent regeneration of
the forest. The tree line is receding as the animals move down the mountain in
search of food. Fencing experiments conducted by the defendants in the critical
habitat showed that in the absence of the sheep and goats, the forest
could regenerate.
Claiming that the state of Hawaii was violating the
Endangered Species Act, a suit was filed to the Ninth District Court; as a
result the state was ordered to eradicate all feral animals on the island
within two years. A request for appeal by the state was denied.
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