RENO, Nev. (AP) — The Biden administration says a U.S. judge exceeded his authority when he gave federal wildlife officials a May 21 deadline to decide whether to formally propose endangered species protections for a rare desert wildflower in Nevada.
The plant is at the center of a fight over a proposed lithium mine.
Lawyers for the Interior Department filed an emergency request last week asking a federal judge to reconsider his order regarding the fate of the only Tiehm's buckwheat plants known to exist in the world.
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Last month, the judge said a listing decision set the May 21 deadline.