U.S. Suit on Tractor in Rat Habitat Dropped

The U.S. attorney’s office has dropped a civil action involving a farmer’s tractor, which allegedly was used to destroy the habitat of endangered Tipton kangaroo rats.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agents confiscated Taung Ming-Lin’s tractor in February and told him that because his land included the rodent’s habitat, he could not farm on most of his 723 acres of rural western Kern County land. But the action involving the tractor was dismissed Wednesday.

“The office decided that the most efficient handling of the case was to let the criminal process run,” U.S. attorney spokeswoman Linda Wodarski said Thursday.

Lin still faces a criminal charge of violating the Endangered Species Act and could be jailed for up to one year and fined $200,000 if convicted.

Lin’s attorney, Daniel Rudnick, said the dropping of the civil suit was “a big win.” But he said he did not know why the government decided not to pursue the lawsuit.