The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and NOAA Fisheries are trying to get on the same page in terms of how they manage the Endangered Species Act.
On Thursday 19 July, the agencies unveiled a proposal to change three sections of regulations. Once the comments are officially posted on the Federal Register, a 60-day public comment period will start for feedback on those revisions. The rules are currently available for review on the FWS website.
“We work to ensure effective conservation measures to recover our most imperiled species,” said Chris Oliver, NOAA Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, in a joint news release. “The changes being proposed today are designed to bring additional clarity and consistency to the implementation of the act across our agencies, and we look forward to additional feedback from the public as part of this process.”
Both agencies seek to change how critical habitat areas receive such a designation. Officials want to bring back a requirement that they must first investigate areas where the species currently occupy before considering other areas. In addition, the agencies want to clarify when they can choose if an unoccupied area is critical to protecting the species.
Another of the planned changes includes FWS ending the regulation that provides threatened species the same protections that endangered species receive. FWS officials said that the move, which would not impact those species currently protected, would match how NOAA Fisheries treat threatened species.
“No two species are the same, and so by crafting species-specific 4(d) rules for threatened species, we can tailor appropriate protections using best available science according to each species’ biological needs,” said Greg Sheehan, the principal deputy director for FWS. “By creating a clearer regulatory distinction between threatened and endangered species, we are also encouraging partners to invest in conservation that has the potential to improve a species’ status, helping us work towards our ultimate goal: recovery.”
Critics of the plan voiced their concerns about it almost immediately after the agencies issued their announcement.
One of the changes opponents focused on was removing the language from a regulation that precluded officials from considering the economic impact in making a decision on a species. They fear that could keep officials from using scientific data for determinations.
“The new regulations included in today’s announcement undercut vital sections of the Endangered Species Act that may harm imperiled species and are yet more examples of the Trump Administration catering to industry instead of the interests of the American people,” said U.S. Senator Tom Carper (D-Delaware), the ranking member of the Senate’s Environment and Public Works Committee. “I’ve called on this Administration to work with Congress to fully fund the Endangered Species Act, instead of trying to weaken it because we know when the ESA is adequately resourced, it works.”
FWA and NOAA Fisheries officials will accept comments through Regulations.gov once the proposals have been published on the Federal Register.
