Endangered Species
Special status species encountered during project construction or implementation demand distinct expertise to prevent a project from being derailed. Downey Brand attorneys have extensive experience with special status species and their habitat. We routinely navigate the state and federal rules and regulations governing land and water where species and habitat are encountered.
Permitting
Downey Brand attorneys guide our clients through compliance with the federal and California Endangered Species Acts, the Bald and Golden Eagle Act, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, Streambed Alteration Agreements, CEQA, and NEPA. From sand and gravel mines to housing developments and water projects to solar and wind energy projects, we successfully negotiate with regulators to ensure that endangered species compliance requirements protect species and resources while allowing projects to proceed.
Ongoing Compliance
After development commences or during ongoing project implementation, compliance obligations kick in. Downey Brand attorneys ensure that mitigation obligations incurred during the permitting phase are carried out in compliance with the laws and regulations and handle new species issues that arise during operations. Not all projects stay on track, and when that happens, we negotiate conservation easements and endowments and shepherd clients through regulatory enforcement actions.
Litigation
Downey Brand lawyers represent public and private clients in litigation under both federal and state Endangered Species Acts throughout California. Whether they seek to intervene in litigation against federal or state agencies to protect their property rights or are sued for alleged take of listed species, farmers, developers, cities, counties and other local agencies turn to Downey Brand to navigate complex claims in state and federal court and achieve creative solutions to dispute resolution.
Mitigation and Conservation Banking
Sometimes species presence and habitat make land less suitable for development or projects more difficult to operate. In these situations, our attorneys can help landowners turn high-quality habitat land into a mitigation or conservation bank for which owners can sell credits and recoup investment value. Downey Brand attorneys have extensive experience working through the multi-agency process to bring a mitigation or conservation bank online and ensure that owners obtain top dollar for bank credits.
Selected Experience
- Permitted 700-acre mitigation bank for seven federally and California protected species and obtained above market credit valuation
- Performed permitting due diligence for major financial institution on a series of wind energy repower projects focusing on potential enforcement actions under the Bald and Golden Eagle Act, Endangered Species Act, California Endangered Species Act and Migratory Bird Treaty Act.
- Permitting large solar energy projects on federal BLM land and negotiating Desert Tortoise translocation plans.
- Permitted 700-acre mitigation bank for seven federally and California protected species and obtained above market credit valuation
- Performed permitting due diligence for major financial institution on a series of wind energy repower projects focusing on potential enforcement actions under the Bald and Golden Eagle Act, Endangered Species Act, California Endangered Species Act and Migratory Bird Treaty Act.
- Permitting large solar energy projects on federal BLM land and negotiating Desert Tortoise translocation plans.
David R. E. Aladjem
David R. E. Aladjem
Partner

David Aladjem helps clients throughout California manage and resolve water resources management problems, especially those at the intersection of water rights, endangered species, and CEQA/NEPA.
Sacramento 916.520.5361
Partner
Sacramento 916.520.5361
Christian L. Marsh
Christian L. Marsh
Partner / Executive Committee Member

Public agencies and private companies turn to Christian Marsh for advice on regulatory and land use entitlement issues governing real estate developments, ground and surface water supply projects, renewable and non-renewable energy facilities, mining operations and processing plants, and port and waterfront developments.
San Francisco 415.848.4830
Partner
San Francisco 415.848.4830
Kathryn L. Oehlschlager
Partner
San Francisco 415.848.4820
Steven P. Saxton
Steven P. Saxton
Retired

For nearly 30 years, public agencies, businesses and agricultural landowners have looked to Steve Saxton to successfully handle water, resources, and land use litigation and representation in both private negotiations and in state and federal courts throughout California.
Sacramento 916.520.5435
Retired
Sacramento 916.520.5435
Rebecca R. A. Smith
Partner
Sacramento 916.520.5281
Melissa A. Thorme
Partner
Sacramento 916.520.5376
San Francisco 415.848.4800
Announcements
11 related items-
October 29, 2021Rebecca Smith Named 40 Under 40 by Sacramento Business Journal
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August 20, 2021Downey Brand Partner Christian Marsh Named Best Lawyers® 2022 “Lawyer of the Year” for Natural Resources Law in San Francisco
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January 15, 2020Downey Brand Names Two New Partners
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November 15, 2019Meredith Nikkel Named 40 Under 40 by Sacramento Business Journal
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May 20, 2019Downey Brand Senior Associate Promoted to Counsel
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January 1, 2019Downey Brand’s Sacramento Office Welcomes Brian E. Hamilton
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October 15, 2018Natalie Kirkish and Benjamin Lee Join Downey Brand’s Natural Resource Team
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December 20, 2017Downey Brand Promotes Four New Counsel
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January 13, 2017Christopher Rendall-Jackson Joins Downey Brand’s San Francisco Office
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January 6, 2017Downey Brand Names New Partners and Counsel
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November 2, 2015Veteran Environmental Attorneys Kathryn Oehlschlager and Donald Sobelman Join Downey Brand
Firm Furthers its Bay Area Commitment with Expansion of San Francisco Office
Speaking Engagements / Events
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January 26, 2023The ESA at Fifty: What Would President Nixon Think?
Speaker, 55th Annual Mid-Pacific Water Users’ Conference -
October 15, 2020Take Me to the River: Evolving Frameworks for Environmental Flows
29th Annual 2020 Environmental Law Conference at Yosemite® -
December 20, 2019The Intersection of Water Law and the Endangered Species Act
Panelist, Lorman Live Webinar -
October 17-20, 201928th Annual Environmental Law Conference at Yosemite®
Presented by the California Lawyers Association -
September 5, 2019Floodplain Management and Endangered Species
Panelist, Floodplain Management Association's 2019 Annual Conference -
February 2, 2019Questions of Common Supply: SGMA Requirements for Interconnected Surface Water and Groundwater
Moderator, 2019 California Water Law Symposium - California Groundwater: SGMA & Beyond -
June 11-12, 2018Water Projects, Rights and Management in the Era of Changing Supply
Co-Chair and Presenter, Argent Communications 33rd Annual California Water Law & Policy Conference -
May 8, 2018Water Rights and the ESA: How Do ESA-imposed Restrictions on Water Management Affect the Exercise of a State Water Right?
Moderator, ACWA's 2018 Legal Affairs Committee CLE Workshop -
October 22, 2016Legal Issues in National Park Management
Moderator, 25th Annual Environmental Law Conference at Yosemite® -
April 3, 2016History of Monticello Dam
Moderator, Celebrate Putah Creek Conference
Legal Alerts
7 related items-
July 12, 2023California Infrastructure Plan Passes; Governor’s CEQA and Species Reforms are Narrowed, but Signed into Law
Environmental Law -
April 13, 2020USEPA Issues Interim Guidance on Site Field Work Decisions Due to Impacts of COVID-19
Downey Brand COVID-19 News and UpdatesEnvironmental Law -
December 2, 2015California Supreme Court Strictly Interprets State Fully Protected Species Statute and Finds Greenhouse Gas Emissions Analysis Inadequate in Newhall Ranch EIR
Land Use Law -
July 15, 2014Sacramento River Settlement Contractors Ask U.S. Supreme Court to Review Scope of Endangered Species Act
Water Law -
May 23, 2014Farm Lenders and Farming Organizations File Amicus Brief in Crucial Ninth Circuit Water Case
Food and Agriculture Law -
October 2012U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Proposes Delisting Valley Elderberry Beetle
Water Law -
August 2012Ninth Circuit Affirms Priority of Water Rights Held by Sacramento River Settlement Contractors In the Face of Endangered Species Act Challenges
Water Law
Publications
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November 2023District Court Finds U.S. Forest Service Failed to Adequately Address Environmental Impacts From Amendments to Tree-Removal Standards in National Forests
Environmental, Energy, & Climate Change Law and Regulation Reporter, Volume 4, Number 2 -
June 2023National Marine Fisheries Service Maintains Endangered Listing Status for Southern California Steelhead
Environmental, Energy & Climate Change Law and Regulation Reporter, Volume 3, Number 9 -
March 2023Ninth Circuit Holds Rulemaking Petition Regarding Grizzly Bear Recovery Plan is not Subject to Judicial Review
Environmental, Energy & Climate Change Law and Regulation Reporter, Volume 3, Number 6 -
November 2022U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Proposes New Eagle Rule to Create a General Incidental Take Permit Process for Power Line Infrastructure and Wind-Energy Projects
California Land Use Law & Policy Reporter, Volume 32, Number 2 -
March 2022U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and NOAA Enter into Joint Memorandum Regarding ESA Consultations for Existing Structures
California Land Use Law & Policy Reporter, Volume 31, Number 6 -
April 2018There is No Free Lunch: The Endangered Species Act, The Public Trust Doctrine and The Takings Clause
Best Paper Award, ABA 36th Annual Water Law Conference