Sportsmen’s Alliance Watching Out for Hunters and Anglers by Reviewing Four New USFWS-Proposed ESA Regulations
Today, Nov. 21, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service published four proposed rules to restore Endangered Species Act (ESA) regulations to their 2019 and 2020 framework. The service says the rules are designed to provide clarity and predictability to how the ESA is implemented while utilizing “science-based conservation that works hand in hand with America’s energy, agricultural and infrastructure priorities.”
Key Changes to Endangered Species Act Regulations
Specifically, the service has proposed rules concerning the procedures and criteria used for listing, reclassifying, and delisting species, and designating critical habitat; reinstating definitions guiding how federal agencies cooperate in carrying out the ESA’s provisions; removing the “blanket rule” option for protecting newly listed threatened species; and revising the criteria used when designating any particular area as critical habitat.
Why the ESA is Stuck in a Cycle of Litigation
Undoubtedly, the way agencies have implemented, and courts have interpreted, rules and regulations, the ESA has strayed from its original intent. The Sportsmen’s Alliance has engaged in numerous ESA-litigation matters, including multiple ongoing lawsuits regarding the status of gray wolves throughout the United States. Unfortunately, we’re stuck in a cycle of agency action, litigation, new agency action, new litigation, and so on.
Sportsmen’s Alliance Reviewing Proposed Rules
While we applaud the service for doing something to steer endangered species policy back onto the tracks laid by the ESA, we’re carefully reviewing and evaluating all four rules to ensure they effectively address necessary fixes to the act’s implementation without placing imperiled species and habitats behind development goals. In addition to commenting on the proposed rules, we’re prepared to enter legal battles that are sure to result from these proposals.
“There’s a lot to unpack in these four proposed rules, and we’re already deep into that process,” said Michael Jean, Litigation Counsel for Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation. “Repealing some measures – like the ‘blanket rule,’ which automatically affords threatened species the same protections as endangered species – is something we’ve advocated for. Wildlife management requires delicate balancing, and we’re working to ensure that the scales are balanced so that wildlife, habitat, and development all win.”
The Sportsmen’s Alliance guarantees hunting, fishing and trapping for the American sportsman now and forever. We’re there when sportsmen need us most. We are the only organization specifically created to protect the individual hunter, angler and trapper – no matter the threat. We will never compromise when it comes to defending our way of life in the courts, in the legislatures, in the public square and at the ballot box. We make this promise to the American sportsman: we will never give up and never give in while proudly securing our future against those seeking to destroy our values, beliefs, and traditions. Stay connected to Sportsmen’s Alliance: Online, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
