Three years after the federal government listed a tiny Nevada toad on the endangered species list, a geothermal company seeking to develop a project near the toad’s only known habitat in Northern Nevada is suing the government over the listing.

Ormat Technologies, headquartered in Reno, is suing the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and U.S. Department of the Interior, saying that the Dixie Valley toad was placed on the endangered species list “without any evidence” that its population is declining.

Its endangered status has prevented construction of the company’s planned geothermal power plant in Churchill County. Ormat first applied for federal approval for the project a decade ago and received a green light, starting construction in 2022 before the toad was listed as endangered.

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