Federal Judge Tosses Petaluma Cliff Swallow Injunction

A Federal judge earlier this month rejected a preliminary injunction filed by a coalition of environmental groups seeking the removal of netting under Petaluma freeway bridges that animal activists say violates migratory bird laws and has killed more than 100 cliff swallows.     

The nylon netting draped over Highway 101's the Lakeville River and Lakeville Overpass bridges were installed to prevent the birds from nesting.

The Native Songbird Care, a Sebastopol-based nonprofit, Center for Biological Diversity, and the Madrone, Marin and Golden Gate Audubon societies, among other groups, filed suit against the  U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), the Federal Highway Administration (FHA), and the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) seeking removal of the nets.

U.S. District Court Judge Jon Tigar said in his July 2 ruling that the concerns failed to meet the threshold for court action.

"The Court takes seriously the concerns and interests of those who enjoy wildlife, and it takes seriously its obligation to ensure that the federal laws that protect the environment are fully effectuated. But under the law, a preliminary injunction is reserved for extraordinary cases in which demonstrably likely future harms can only be averted by the extraordinary remedy of injunctive relief," the ruling said.

"This is not such a case."

A spokeswoman for the Animal Legal Defense Fund, which earlier this year threatened the government agencies with legal action, said language in the judge's ruling showed their case had merit.

"We feel that it is important to acknowledge that Judge Tigar recognized we had raised serious legal issues on the merits, even if they were not enough to outweigh the highway project mid-stream," ALFD spokeswoman Megan Backus said in an email to Patch.

"Judge Tigar expressed sympathy for plaintiffs' interests and found that harm to the birds could create irreparable harm to the plaintiffs."