Lawsuits Impact Wildlife Funding, Taxpayer Dollars

Legal defense costs are an increasing drain on conservation funding today. Alarmed by the trend, the Boone and Crockett Club has launched a new examination of federal statutes that enable ongoing litigation at a high cost to wildlife and the American taxpayer. The Club's primary concern…

is the Equal Access to Justice Act ( EAJA ), which reimburses organizations that successfully sue federal agencies for non-compliance with federal law. Although well intended, abuses of EAJA are escalating into a modern conservation issue with potentially severe long-term consequences.