The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) is proposing to revise section 10(j) regulations under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) to allow for the introduction of listed species to suitable habitats outside of their historical ranges.
The agency says the change will help the recovery and conservation of species as climate change and invasive species impacts continue to grow and “cause habitats within their historical ranges to shift and become unsuitable.”
“The growing extinction crisis highlights the importance of the Endangered Species Act and efforts to conserve species before declines become irreversible,” said Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland in a statement. “This effort to update proven conservation tools will help ensure species on the cusp of extinction can recover and thrive for generations to come.”
USFWS said conservation policy must keep up with corresponding science, which they say has shown climate change and invasive species are pushing plants and animals into new geographic areas for the habitat needed for survival.
“Improving the ESA’s experimental population regulations will prevent more species from becoming stranded when conditions change in their current habitat and help establish them in more suitable habitats given these rising threats,” the agency said.
The Service said it uses experimental populations as a recovery tool when it needs to establish a new population of a listed species outside of its current range, which establishes more populations while also providing fewer regulatory restrictions.
“Experimental populations have been used to help advance the recovery of numerous listed species, including, but not limited to, California condors, whooping cranes and Sonoran pronghorns,” USFWS said. The agency also plans to introduce the Guam kingfisher outside of its historical range.
The proposed revisions come as a component to “stem the extinction crisis” under the Biden administration’s America the Beautiful (30×30) plan. The agency says the revised regulation will not change the rule-making process for designating a 10(j) experimental population or require reevaluation of existing experimental populations.
Comments will be accepted on the proposed regulation until Aug. 8. Comments may be submitted at regulations.gov by searching for docket ID FWS-HQ-ES-2021-0033 or by mail to Public Comments Processing, Attn: FWS-HQ-ES-2021-0033; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, MS: PRB/3W, 5275 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041-3803. — Anna Miller, WLJ managing editor
