Groups praise ESA reform efforts

The Public Lands Council, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, and the American Sheep Industry Association sent a letter to Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY), chairman of the Senate’s Environment and Public Works Committee. In it, the trio of groups praised the senator for releasing a discussion draft of the Endangered Species Act Amendments of 2018. The bill would amend the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in a number of ways, including focusing resources on species recovery, requiring increased state and stakeholder involvement and input, and studying the impact of litigation costs related to the ESA. This latter point has been hotly contended by environmental litigation groups. Such groups have pointed to several reports in recent years from the U.S. Government Accountability Office that show the impact of environmental litigation is relatively minor. However, those reports have repeatedly noted that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service—the agency primarily charged with upholding the ESA—does not collect nor report complete litigation cost data. This proposed legislation would require the comptroller general to conduct a report quantifying the federal costs associated with litigation over the ESA. The three ranching groups said the potential bill “takes a critical step forward in modernizing the ESA.” “As the nation’s largest non-governmental bloc of land managers, ranchers take great pride in their integral role in species conservation and recovery,” the letter went on. “Over the years, they have grown frustrated by the lack of commonsense ESA implementation and being put on the sidelines while those decisions are made.” — WLJ