Issues

ESA Bills Introduced in the House of Representatives. Earlier this week, four bills pertaining to the Endangered Species Act (ESA) were introduced in the House of Representatives in a hearing of the Committee on Natural Resources. The bills introduced are:

  • H.R. 4315, the “21st Century Endangered Species Transparency Act.” This bill was authored by Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (R-WA) and would require that the data used by federal agencies for ESA listing decisions (including proposed listings) be published on the internet.
  • H.R. 4316, the “Endangered Species Recovery Transparency Act.” Introduced by Rep. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), this bill requires the Interior Secretary to provide an annual report to the House Natural Resources Committee detailing ESA litigation costs, including attorneys’ fees, and post that report on the Internet.
  • H.R. 4317, the “State, Tribal, and Local Species Transparency and Recovery Act.” Introduced by Rep. Randy Neugebauer (R-TX), this bill would require the disclosure of all data that is the basis for a listing determination be provided to each affected state before a decision is made. The bill defines data provided by States, Indian Tribes and Counties to be “best available scientific and commercial data.”
  • H.R. 4318, the “Endangered Species Litigation Reasonableness Act.”  Authored by Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-MI), this bill caps hourly fees paid to attorneys that prevail in cases filed under ESA, consistent with current law under the Equal Access to Justice Act.

IPAA anticipates these bills will be marked up in the House Committee on Natural Resources later this month.

Legislative Hearing on H.R. 4315, H.R. 4316, H.R. 4317, and H.R. 4318. This week, the House Committee on Natural Resources held a legislative hearing to discuss the aforementioned pieces of legislation concerning the Endangered Species Act (ESA). At the hearing, Mr. Michael Bean, Counselor to the Assistant Secretary, Fish and Wildlife and Parks, Mr. Sam Rauch, Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs National Marine Fisheries Service, and Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ) stated that they do not believe the proposed legislation will help in recovering species. The majority of the remaining panelists called for more transparency from the the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS).

In his remarks, State Senator Kel Seliger (R-TX: 31) noted how local government initiatives have helped conserve species, highlighting the multi-statewide effort to conserve the now-listed Lesser Prairie Chicken. He made note of the thirty-five companies that have voluntarily enrolled over four millions acres to conservation efforts as well as millions of dollars private companies contributed for further study. Representative Steve Daines (R-CO) also stated he hopes that the listing of the Lesser Prairie Chicken is not foreshadowing future determinations, including the Sage Grouse. Garfield County Commissioner Tom Jankovsky also commented on the grouse, stating he does not believe that local governments are being heard when it comes the determination process. Secretary Bean attempted to quell the concerns of Mr. Jankovsky and others, noting that the eventual ruling has nothing to do with the recently listed Lesser Prairie Chicken and that the States have already been responsible for a great deal of the Sage Grouses’ recovery.

Ms. Karen Budd-Falen, J.D. and Mr. Kent Holsinger, J.D. also expressed their concerns regarding legal proceedings involving the ESA. For more on the hearing as well as to view an archived video, visit the Committee on Natural Resources HERE.

Conservation Groups Challenge Limited Protections for Lesser Prairie Chicken. This week, WildEarth Guardians, Defenders of Wildlife, and Center for Biological Diversity announced they will be challenging the recent decision by the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to list the Lesser Prairie Chicken as threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The groups believe the bird should be listed as an endangered species and expressed discontent with the conservation agreements in place to protect the bird. The press release is critical of the FWS, stating “the Service has increasingly relied on Section 4(d) of the Endangered Species Act to create exemptions that allow continued habitat destruction and the incidental take of species listed as ‘threatened,’ weakening protections.” Read the full announcement HERE.

In related news, Kansas, North Dakota and the Oklahoma Farm Bureau have joined a lawsuit from Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt against the threatened listing. The group argues the listing determination was the result of “sue and settle tactics” and should not stand. The Fish and Wildlife Service published the Final Rules for the Lesser Prairie Chicken and the 4(d) Rule in the April 10, 2014 Federal Register. The effective date of the listing decision is May 12, 2014. You can find the 4(d) rule for the conservation of the prairie chicken HERE and the threatened status listing HERE.

In the News

Knee-jerk reaction to endangered species legislation. Pacific Legal Foundation (Blog). It’s amazing how predictable the “green lobby” is.  One can predict with absolute certainty that when conservative lawmakers propose legislative changes to the Endangered Species Act, no matter how benign, they will be met with the tired old accusation that the changes will “gut the Act.”

Feds reopen comment period for bistate grouse. Associated Press. The federal government has reopened the public comment period on its proposal to list a distinct species of sage grouse found along the Nevada-California line as threatened.

County commission wants input on prairie chicken. Associated Press. Finney County commissioners are asking the federal government to ensure they will have input into regulations for the lesser prairie chicken, which was designated last month as a threatened species.

Hickenlooper Urges BLM Not to Overreach on Sage Grouse Protections. Heartland (Blog). “It is our hope that a management alternative can be developed that both safeguards the economic engine of northwestern Colorado and protects the

[greater sage grouse] sufficiently to preclude a listing under the Endangered Species Act by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,” Hickenlooper wrote.

W. Wash. gopher going on endangered species list. Associated Press. The Fish and Wildlife Service announced plans Tuesday to list four subspecies of Mazama pocket gophers as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.

County commission wants input on prairie chicken. Houston Chronicle. Finney County commissioners say they want to have a say in the federal government’s efforts to decide the regulations for the lesser prairie chicken.

In a “Range War” between a rancher and government – no one wins. Drovers Cattle Network (Editorial). Across the rugged frontier of the Western United States, thousands of livestock ranchers work each day to care for their livestock and also care for the land. In the case of many western ranchers, there is a good chance that at least part the land their cattle graze is owned by the federal government.