More protections are coming for endangered species threatened by invasive species and climate change.
The Department of the Interior (DOI) has finalized revisions to its Section 10(j) regulations under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The new regulations will “help improve the conservation and recovery of imperiled ESA-listed species in the coming decades,” according to DOI.
Under the new regulations, certain endangered species will have the opportunity to be reintroduced to areas outside of their usual habitat.
“At the time the original 10(j) regulations were established, the potential impact of climate change on species and their habitats was not fully realized, yet in the decades since have become even more dramatic,” said U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) Director Martha Williams in a news release.
She continued that the rule revisions will help prevent extinctions and support the recovery of imperiled species.
The initiative is part of President Joe Biden’s America the Beautiful plan, which the White House describes as a “national call to action to work collaboratively to conserve and restore the lands, waters, and wildlife that support and sustain the nation.”
Reg updates
In the USWFS’ revisions to Section 10(j), they removed language that restricted the introduction of experimental populations of species outside of their historical range. The agency concluded it may be increasingly necessary to establish populations outside of species’ historical range if the species’ habitat is anticipated to decline and no longer be capable of supporting the species.
USFWS also added language for the secretary of the Interior to consider any adverse effects that may result to the ecosystem from the experimental population being established. In addition, the agency made clarifications to the existing regulations’ language, but said the changes do not alter the substance or scope of the regulations.
“Removing this restriction—that the Service may only consider designating an experimental population outside a species’ historical range if the species’ primary habitat has been unsuitably and irreversibly altered or destroyed—will allow the Service to act before populations are severely depleted, lose important elements of genetic diversity, or become habituated to captivity and may help to prevent species extinctions,” the agency wrote in the final rule.
USFWS continued, “Being able to act before situations are so dire that there is no remaining suitable habitat within the historical range will improve the likelihood of species recovery while reducing the need for costly and extreme measures.”
Public comments were accepted on the final rule from last June through August. In total, the agency received just under 570 public comments from the public, states, Tribes, industry groups and environmental organizations. About half of the comments were nearly identical statements of support, and about 50 other identical comments indicated opposition, with several concerned about impacts to private agricultural lands.
USFWS noted some comments alleged the ability to designate non-historical habitat for experimental endangered species populations will be misused by the agency, and burden the energy and agricultural industries, forcing operators out of business. In response, the agency said the process for designating an experimental population is rigorous and a public notice and comment rule-making process must occur.
The rule goes into effect Aug. 2 and can be viewed in its entirety at www.federalregister.gov/d/2023-13672. — Anna Miller, WLJ managing editor
