In July 2006 APHIS introduced the beetles directly into flycatcher-nesting areas along the Virgin River in southern Utah. A quarter of the birdsвЂ™ territories are found in areas dominated by tamarisk, and about half are found in areas of mixed tamarisk and native trees.ДЄPHIS released the tamarisk-defoliating leaf beetle under an agreement that no beetles would be released within 200 miles of flycatcher habitat or within 300 miles of documented flycatcher breeding areas, and that the beetles could not become established within the range of the flycatcher. вЂњAPHIS needs to consult with the Fish and Wildlife Service to develop and pay for an emergent plan to ensure that native species provide alternative habitat for the highly endangered flycatcher,вЂќ said Maricopa Audubon President Mark Larson.ДЇlycatchers frequently nest where tamarisk has displaced native cottonwood and willow trees. вЂњAPHIS still refuses to clean up its own mess now that its introduction of an exotic, invasive biocontrol agent has gone haywire,вЂќ said the CenterвЂ™s Dr. Fish and Wildlife Service is also included in the suit for failing to protect the flycatcher as required by the Endangered Species Act. Through its failure to respond, the Service has left the groups no option other than the lawsuit. In March 2013 the Center and Maricopa Audubon filed a notice of intent to sue APHIS in an attempt to avoid litigation.

In 2010, instead of providing promised mitigation, APHIS merely terminated its tamarisk beetle program.

APHIS promised mitigation if its release of the beetles went awry, but has not taken the steps necessary - including planting native willows and cottonwoods to replace dying tamarisk - to help the endangered birds. If the beetle spreads farther without mitigation, it will seriously threaten the flycatcherвЂ™s survival. Unfortunately, the tamarisk-defoliating leaf beetle is now invading the nesting areas of southwestern willow flycatchers in southern Utah, Nevada, and northern and western Arizona. In 2005, despite songbird biologistsвЂ™ concern for the safety of the flycatchers, APHIS released imported Asian beetles into the western United States, outside of the flycatchersвЂ™ range, to help control invasive, exotic streamside trees called tamarisks. Department of Agriculture and APHIS, the departmentвЂ™s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, over their failure to safeguard an endangered native songbird, the southwestern willow flycatcher, from the impacts of the agencyвЂ™s deliberate release of an exotic beetle that is destroying the birdвЂ™s habitat in parts of Utah, Arizona and Nevada. Habitat Destruction Caused by Invasive BeetlesДЇLAGSTAFF, Ariz.- The Center for Biological Diversity and Maricopa Audubon today filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Lawsuit Filed to Save Endangered Southwestern Songbird From Mark Larson, Maricopa Audubon Society, (480) 310-3261 Robin Silver, Center for Biological Diversity, (602) 799-3275

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