US fights new deadline for rare plant protections in Nevada

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. Last month, the judge said a listing decision set the May 21 deadline.