Issues
Fish & Wildlife Service advances proposed changes to application of the Endangered Species Act. On Monday, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) sent three proposed rules regarding the Endangered Species Act (ESA) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The proposed regulations include changes to the Blanket Section 4(d) Rule, the Obama-era critical habitat rules, and interagency cooperation involving Section 7 consultations.
Blanket Section 4(d) is a provision in the ESA that is most commonly used when designating species as “threatened.” According to a leaked copy, the proposed rule would remove this blanket take provision for species listed in the future as threatened. However, the 300 species currently listed as threatened would not be affected. Industry groups, such as the National Federation of Independent Business and Washington Cattleman’s Association, have petitioned for the blanket section 4(d) rule to be revoked, arguing that it is technically illegal under the ESA and bad conservation policy.
The second proposed regulation would makes changes to the Obama-era critical habitat rules, which many thought were too sweeping in nature. Specifically, in 2016, the Obama administration broadened how the “critical habitat” designation could be applied, deciding that it could be used to designate land not only known to be home to endangered and threatened species, but also to lands on which neither of these kinds of species were known to inhabit. Many groups argued against this rule, saying such a generous designation would have a negative impact on development.
The final proposed rule sent to OMB is the interagency cooperation provision. Currently, this Section 7 rule necessitates that all federal agencies work “in consultation with and with the assistance of the [FWS] secretary” when reviewing programs as they relate to species – endangered or otherwise – and their habitats.
New lead for Department of Interior’s wildlife policy. Former Texas state comptroller Susan Combs was selected to be the U.S. Department of Interior (DOI) acting secretary for fish, wildlife and parks by Secretary Ryan Zinke late last week.
In her previous role as Texas comptroller, Combs was an active advocate for reform of the Endangered Species Act (ESA). In 2012, she fought against and ultimately won an effort to not list the Dunes sagebrush lizard, noting awarding federal protections to the species would hurt the Texas job market and economy. In 2015, she worked to have the golden-cheeked warbler – a songbird native to Texas – removed from the ESA, saying its endangered status jeopardized military readiness.
Mid-Atlantic mussel listed under Endangered Species Act. On Monday, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) deemed the yellow lance freshwater mussel as threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). A reported 50 to 70 percent decrease in the species’ population over recent years influenced the agency’s decision to afford the mussel federal protections. While the mussel still inhabits Virginia, Maryland and North Carolina, “[s]ignificant portions of all of the river basins within the range of the yellow lance are affected by development,” FWS reported. Other factors, such as suburban sprawl and invasive species, have also contributed to the species’ decline, scientists say.
The decision comes as a result of a lawsuit that ended in 2015. In 2011, in response to a petition calling for the species status, FWS acknowledged that “listing may be warranted” for the yellow lance. The Center for Biological Diversity later sued the agency, and in 2015 settled the suit with the Service.
The yellow lance will officially be considered threatened under the ESA on Thursday, May 3, 30 days after the announcement was published in the Federal Register.
In the News
Federal protections sought for mustangs in Montana mountains. Associated Press. Animal rights advocates announced a lawsuit against the federal government on Wednesday in a bid to make a Montana mustang population the first group of wild horses to be protected under the Endangered Species Act. A prior attempt to secure protections for wild horses across the western U.S. as imperiled wildlife failed. But supporters of the idea said they’re hopeful to succeed this time by concentrating their efforts on a single population they say is genetically unique. The Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Range just north of the Wyoming border is home to about 155 mustangs believed to be descended from the mounts of Spanish conquistadors who came to North America in the 1500s. Attorneys for Friends of Animals argued in the lawsuit that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service violated federal law by failing to act on a petition filed last June seeking protections for the animals. The petition was rejected on a technicality because the group submitted it to the federal agency without first notifying Montana officials as was required.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife faulted for Mexican gray wolf population efforts in Arizona. Capital News Service. A federal judge has swatted the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for not doing enough to ensure there is a viable population of the Mexican gray wolf in Arizona and New Mexico. In a 44-page ruling, U.S. District Judge Jennifer Zipps cited repeated instances in which the agency ignored the advice of “leading wolf scientists” in adopting its own recovery plan. And the judge said Fish and Wildlife officials acted in an “arbitrary and capricious” manner in deciding what to do. “Moreover, this case is unique in that the same scientists that are cited by the agency (in crafting the plan) publicly communicated their concern that the agency misapplied and misinterpreted findings in such a manner that the recovery of the species is compromised,” Zipps wrote. “To ignore this dire warning was an egregious oversight by the agency.”
Omnibus spending bill rider on wolf delisting pulled. WXPR. When President Trump signed the Omnibus spending bill recently he kept the government running. One little publicized development was a move by members of Congress to remove the gray wolf from federal endangered species protection. That was eliminated from the bill Trump signed. The move stops states from managing gray wolf populations and leaves it in federal control through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Great Lakes Field Representative for the Endangered Species Coalition Melissa Smith says members of Congress tried to put the policy issue inside the funding bill… It’s out feeling that a stand-alone wolf de-listing bill would never pass Congress. So they tried to slip that in to remove wolves from the endangered species act but more importantly subject to no judicial review. Meaning, taking away the rights of citizens to take away the rights of citizens to challenge our government if we feel they haven’t acted ethically or followed protocol….”
Endangered status of Atlantic sturgeon up for review. Eagle Tribune. Federal fishing regulators say they are conducting a five-year review of threatened and endangered populations of Atlantic sturgeon. Populations of sturgeon are listed as threatened in the Gulf of Maine and endangered in New York Bight, the Chesapeake Bay and off the Carolinas and South Atlantic. Shortnose sturgeon are listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) as an endangered species throughout their range. Atlantic sturgeon are listed as five distinct population segments, with those that hatch out in Gulf of Maine rivers listed as threatened, and those that hatch out in other U.S. rivers listed as endangered. Atlantic sturgeon are found in the Merrimack River, up to the Essex Dam in Lawrence. Once thought to number less than 100 in the Merrimack, the river’s shortnose sturgeon population has been on the rebound, researchers have said.
OSU study: Coastal martens under high risk of extinction. KTVZ. The coastal marten, a small but fierce forest predator, is at a high risk for extinction in Oregon and northern California in the next 30 years due to threats from human activities, according to a new study. The study, published Wednesday in the online journal PeerJ, will be available to federal and state wildlife agencies for their consideration to determine whether distinct geographic population segments of the coastal marten warrant state or federal listing as threatened or endangered, said Katie Moriarty, a certified wildlife biologist and lead co-author on the study. “Martens are like the river otters of the woods,” Moriarty said. “But they can be vicious little critters, too. When you capture one and it’s growling at you from inside a cage, there is no mistaking its intent. They’re the size of kittens and act like they’ll attack a pit bull.” Some threats to coastal martens include trapping and being hit by cars, said Moriarty, an Oregon State University graduate now with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service Pacific Northwest Research Station.
