TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Azya Thornton on Feb 13, 2026

The Center for Biological Diversity has filed a lawsuit against the federal government over the status of a small amphibian found in Tennessee WPLN reports. The conservation group alleges the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service failed to determine whether the yellow-spotted woodland salamander should be listed as an endangered species. The salamander lives in shale and sandstone rock faces, areas often targeted for mountaintop removal mining, which has destroyed more than 500 mountains and 1.4 million acres of Appalachian forest over the past 40 years. Regional Director Will Harlan said the species, identified in 2018, could be wiped out by mining and road construction in the coming years if action is not taken.