On-Demand Webinar | Recent Updates to Federal Environmental and Natural Resource Regulations
On-Demand Webinar | Regulatory Uncertainty and Linear Infrastructure Projects: Where Are We and What’s Ahead?
Updates to federal environmental and natural resource regulations and recent consequential decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court have resulted in a significant shift to the federal environmental and natural resource landscape...more
On April 12, 2024, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (USFWS) new regulations for eagle take permitting under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act will go into effect. The regulations, issued on February 12, 2024,...more
Beginning April 12, 2024, USFWS will offer a general permit application for incidental take of bald and golden eagles for wind energy and power line projects. The general permit option will provide an alternative to...more
Last month, in 89 FR 9920, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (“USFWS”) published a final rule revising the eagle take permit (“ETP”) process. USFWS believes the new rule will encourage more participation in the ETP program...more
On February 12, 2024, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) published a final rule that created several long-awaited general permits under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act (Eagle Act) to authorize...more
On February 12, 2024, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) published a final rule creating new permitting pathways and revising existing regulations for the take of bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) and golden...more
On February 12, 2024, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (“USFWS” or “Service”) issued a long-awaited final rule revising its eagle permit program under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act (15 U.S.C. 668-668d) (“BGEPA”)....more
On February 12, 2024, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) released its final rule revising its permit regulations for “take” under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act (BGEPA), an overhaul that has been several...more
Today, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (“Service”) published notice in the Federal Register of a final rule amending its regulations authorizing permits for eagle incidental take and eagle nest take. The final rule comes...more
On February 2, 2024, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) published a final rule increasing civil monetary penalties for violations of several federal wildlife and natural resource protection laws (Final Rule). The...more
This January, the Department of the Interior and the Department of Commerce announced updated civil monetary penalties for violations of federal wildlife and natural resource protection laws including the Endangered Species...more
A new federal proposal may reduce the burden and costs for wind energy projects and power lines to ensure compliance with federal wildlife protections. Energy projects often require a wide array of federal, state, and local...more
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently published a proposed rule revising regulations that authorize permit issuance for eagle incidental take and eagle nest take under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act (the...more
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), on 29 September, released a significant rulemaking proposal that seeks to ease the permitting process to authorize incidental take of bald and golden eagles. If finalized, USFWS’s...more
On September 30, 2022, the US Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) issued a proposed rule in the Federal Register that would revise the regulations for the eagle take permit program under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection...more
On September 30, 2022, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) published a proposed rule to amend its eagle permit regulations (Proposed Rule) administered in accordance with the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act...more
From Executive Orders to court decisions, the environmental regulatory landscape seems to be changing from day to day. Many of the changes will increasingly have impacts on the timing, placement and cost of construction and...more
The already-complicated relationship between wind energy and eagles has taken center stage recently. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) is ramping up its efforts to protect bald and golden eagles at development...more
The U.S. Department of Justice announced that ESI Energy LLC (ESI), a wholly owned subsidiary of Nextera Energy Resources LLC, pleaded guilty to violating the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) and acknowledged at least 150...more
In the last few weeks, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) has published several major regulatory actions affecting federal avian protections. The Service has repealed a Trump-era rule that excluded incidental take...more
After a brief hiatus, incidental take of migratory birds will again be a federal crime beginning December 3, 2021. Less than 10 months after instituting a final rule declaring that incidental take of birds is not subject to...more
The Biden administration has committed to significantly expanding development of renewable energy. These projects, including solar and wind are welcomed by many. They have the potential to generate significant amounts of...more
On May 5, 2021, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (“USFWS”) published its updated collision risk model (“CRM”) for bald and golden eagles at wind energy facilities. The CRM is a complex Bayesian model the USFWS has endorsed...more