More reversals to Trump-era rollbacks could be coming for the Endangered Species Act (ESA), strengthening protections for species.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and NOAA Fisheries are proposing to restore protections under the ESA in honor of the 50th anniversary of the act.
There are two proposed rules between the two agencies that regard interagency cooperation, species classification and critical habitat designations. A third proposed rule by USFWS addresses protections given to species listed as endangered.
“The Endangered Species Act is the nation’s foremost conservation law that prevents the extinction of species and supports their recovery,” said USFWS Director Martha Williams in a statement. “These proposed revisions reaffirm our commitment to conserving America’s wildlife and ensuring the Endangered Species Act works for both species and people.”
Proposed rules
Perhaps of most interest to the agriculture community is the USFWS’s proposed rule to reinstate protections for species listed as threatened. This would reinstate the blanket 4(d) rule that provides a “safety net” for all species listed as threatened and give the option for USFWS to adopt a species-specific 4(d) rule. The 4(d) rule prohibits the killing or injuring of a threatened species.
One of the two joint agency proposed rules seeks to clarify standards for listing and delisting species and revising critical habitat designations. This rule would reinstate language that listing, reclassification and delisting determinations must be made “without reference to possible economic or other impacts of such determination.” This would ensure that economic impacts are not considered when making classification decisions.
The second of the joint agency proposed rules would improve the interagency consultation process by revising language and definitions for clarification and revising the scope of measures in an incidental take statement.
“Both agencies are committed to applying the best available science when implementing the Endangered Species Act—including when making listing and delisting decisions, designating critical habitat, developing protective regulations for threatened species, and consulting on federal actions,” USFWS said.
Earthjustice praised the proposed rules. “These are promising steps toward restoring the purpose and power of the Endangered Species Act, and getting these protections back is why we challenged the harmful Trump rules for the past four years,” said Earthjustice attorney Kristen Boyles.
The agriculture community was largely in favor of former President Donald Trump’s rollbacks to the ESA.
Rules are expected to be finalized by the spring of 2024. A comment period opened on each of the three rules on June 22 and will close on Aug. 21. To leave comments, visit regulations.gov and search for the following docket IDs: interagency cooperation, NOAA-NMFS-2021-0083; listing and designating critical habitat, NOAA-NMFS-2023-0004; and regulations pertaining to endangered and threatened species, FWS-HQ-ES-2023-0018. — Anna Miller, WLJ managing editor
