A conservation group sued the federal government Tuesday for failing to make a timely decision on whether to list a rare Nevada toad and fish as endangered or threatened species. The Center for Biological Diversity sued the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Tuesday for allegedly violating the Endangered Species Act after federal wildlife managers failed to issue a 12-month finding on whether to list the Amargosa toad and the Oasis Valley speckled dace, as required by federal law. … According to the petitions, both the rare toad and fish are threatened with extinction due to groundwater pumping from seven proposed gold mining operations along the Amargosa. Six of those projects are being proposed by British multinational miner AngloGold Ashanti, including what is potentially the largest greenfield gold discovery in Nevada in more than a decade.

Related:

• Las Vegas Review-Journal: Gold rush in Nye County puts rare Nevada wildlife in the crosshairs, lawsuit says
• Center for Biological Diversity: News release: Lawsuit filed to protect rare Nevada toad, fish from gold mining