The Trump administration, last week, did what Congress or any previous presidential administration couldn’t or wouldn’t: Modernize federal agency processes under the 46-year-old Endangered Species Act (ESA).
These improvements matter because ESA restrictions hinder farming and ranching—something that’s understandable when it truly is needed to benefit a species. However, it’s extremely frustrating when the farmer or rancher knows the restrictions will do little for the critters they’re supposed to help, or when species remain on the endangered list long after the land is crawling with them.
This announcement of ESA reforms adds to a growing list of regulatory reform achievements that improve our ability to farm and ranch and keep food on America’s tables.
One of the reforms announced this week eliminates the so-called blanket 4(d) rule that treated many species classified as threatened (at risk of becoming endangered) the same as those classified as endangered. If those categories are treated the same, what’s the use of having separate classifications?
Another rule ensures that delisting or reclassifying a species is based on the same factors that determine whether to list a species in the first place. The rule also ensures that listing decisions are based on the best available science, consistent with the law. Finally, this rule fixes something that really gets in the landowner’s craw: designating critical habitat where species do not exist, and possibly never have. This has been a real head-scratcher for many farmers and ranchers—a perfect example of regulations that don’t make sense and don’t work.
A third rule will make the consultation process between federal agencies more efficient, and it sets a deadline for some consultations. It might be difficult to get excited about a change to a government process, but let me tell you this is huge: It means there could be quicker approvals for new pest management tools.
Some will predictably claim that these reforms “weaken” the ESA and species protection, and they will be wrong. When I see a way to make my farm more efficient, it strengthens my farm. Any business would update a 46-year-old process to make it work better. The Interior Department is bringing ESA rules into the 21st century and making improvements based on lessons learned over decades of working to conserve and recover species.
Leaders of several agricultural organizations, including Farm Bureau, were on hand for the announcement. It has been refreshing for those who are most affected by federal actions to be consulted and heard when those actions are considered and announced.
This announcement of ESA reforms adds to a growing list of regulatory reform achievements that improve our ability to farm and ranch and keep food on America’s tables. We’ve worked for decades to help government leaders understand that ESA implementation and bureaucratic red tape had strayed far beyond common sense or the original intent of the law. We applaud the president and Secretary David Bernhardt for these much-needed improvements. — Zippy Duvall, American Farm Bureau Federation president
