The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries) have proposed a change to the term “habitat” under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).
As defined in the proposed rule, “Habitat contains food, water, cover or space that a species depends upon to carry out one or more of its life processes. This broad definition includes both occupied and unoccupied critical habitat,” according to the press release.
“Our proposed definition of habitat is intended to add more consistency to how the Service designates critical habitat under ESA,” said Rob Wallace, assistant secretary for USFWS. “Improving how we apply this important tool will result in better conservation outcomes and provide more transparency for countless stakeholders such as private landowners, industry, and states.”
The current definition of critical habitat, according to USFWS, are “specific geographic areas that contain features essential to the conservation of an endangered or threatened species and that may require special management and protection. Critical habitat may also include areas that are not currently occupied by the species but will be needed for its recovery.”
The proposed designation of habitat will comply with a 2018 Supreme Court ruling in Weyerhaeuser Co. v USFWS, which stated that any area designated as critical habitat must also be the habitat of the species. The case involved the designation of the dusky gopher frog, which survives in one ephemeral pond in Mississippi. USFWS designated an area with a similar habitat in Louisiana to rehabilitate the frog but, required forest restoration to provide a high-quality habitat.
“We appreciate the Trump Administration’s work to direct important resources to where they are most needed,” National Cattlemen’s Beef Association Executive Director of Natural Resources and Public Lands Council Executive Director Kaitlynn Glover stated in a press release.
“By clarifying the definition of habitat, species conservation will improve, and we will avoid long, drawn-out, speculative analyses that delay important conservation work for imperiled species. We welcome this addition to ESA as it removes an unnecessary burden from livestock producers who are looking to act as responsible stewards and make improvements to rangeland.”
Environmental groups are disheartened with the proposed changes, stating it will “weaken” the ESA, harming threatened and endangered species making it harder to protect habitat critical for the species.
“The ESA is an effective and popular law that serves as the last line of defense for rare species facing extinction,” said Cathy Liss, president of the Animal Welfare Institute in a press release. “Thanks to these crucial protections, nearly every listed species is still with us today and many are on the road to recovery, including the bald eagle, the American alligator, and the humpback whale.”
USFWS stated the proposed change will not affect protections for species currently listed as threatened but will ensure they receive protections “tailored to the species’ individual conservation needs.”
Public comments will be accepted once published in the Federal Register. The documents were sent on July 31, 2020, and it will take several days before publication. For more information, visit the USFWS website at www.fws.gov. — Charles Wallace, WLJ editor
