Pacific Legal Foundation March 25, 2009

Government Gives People's Houses to “Endangered” Mice; A Federal Judge Will Consider PLF's Lawsuit This Week

The legal climax is near in a bizarre story of abusive environmental overregulation along the Florida Gulf Coast.

This week, a federal judge will take up PLF attorneys’ lawsuit on behalf of Perdido Key homeowners whose houses have been confiscated and given to the Perdido Key beach mouse.

Yes, you read that right—government has, for all practical purposes, taken people’s homes and set them aside as living space for mice.

Watch a video about this disturbing case of bureaucratic arrogance:

PLF’s clients are Paul and Gayle Fisher, along with other local property owners. Their houses were destroyed by Hurricane Ivan in 2004. Before they could rebuild, federal regulators labeled their land as “critical habitat” for “endangered” mice and local regulators blocked the owners from rebuilding.

Arrogant regulators ignored environmental laws

The regulators who’ve seized land from the Fishers and hundreds of homeowners were sloppy and cut corners. They disobeyed the Endangered Species Act. They labeled thousands of acres of land as habitat for beach mice without providing the required scientific rationale, and without evaluating the economic impact.

In fact, there’s no evidence of beach mice on the Fishers’ property!

In challenging this government outrage, PLF will battle all the way up the judicial ladder, if necessary.

Thanks to our donors, PLF attorneys can give heartburn to government lawyers

You can help. PLF attorneys gratefully depend on PLF’s supporters to fuel our fight for the Fishers in Florida, and our litigation for property rights and limited government across the country.

Government’s attorneys never run short of resources when they’re bearing down on private property owners. You can help make sure that PLF has the means to fight back with a generous, tax-deductible donation.