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
On December 10, 2021, the Biden Administration released the Fall 2021 Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions (Unified Agenda), which is a semi-annual compilation of information concerning regulations and policy...more
12/21/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Conservation ,
Critical Habitat ,
Department of the Interior ,
Endangered Species ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Environmental Policies ,
Habitat Conservation Plan ,
National Marine Fisheries Service ,
Nationwide Permits (NWPs) ,
NEPA ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform ,
US Fish and Wildlife Service
On November 18, 2021, The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) announced the availability of a pre-publication version of a proposed rule (Proposed Rule) to amend the definition of Waters...more
12/2/2021
/ Clean Water Act ,
Comment Period ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Federal Jurisdiction ,
Inland Waterways ,
Navigable Waters ,
Navigable Waters Protection Rule ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Rulemaking Process ,
US Army Corps of Engineers ,
Waters of the United States ,
Wetlands
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 The Service has repealed a Trump-era rule that excluded incidental take...more
10/8/2021
/ Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) ,
Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act ,
Biden Administration ,
Comment Period ,
Endangered Species ,
Environmental Policies ,
Incidental Take Permits ,
Infrastructure ,
Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) ,
Oil & Gas ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Rulemaking Process ,
US Fish and Wildlife Service
On June 4, 2021, the Biden Administration announced its intent to rescind or revise several implementing regulations for the Endangered Species Act (ESA) finalized under the prior administration. ...more
6/8/2021
/ Conservation ,
Critical Habitat ,
Delisting ,
Endangered Species ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Environmental Policies ,
ESA Listings ,
Habitat Conservation Plan ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Rulemaking Process ,
US Fish and Wildlife Service ,
Weyerhaeuser Company v United States Fish and Wildlife Service
On May 7, 2021, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), as many anticipated, published a proposed rule to revoke a Trump Administration rule impacting the scope of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA). The Trump...more
On January 20, 2021, President Biden announced his administration will review regulatory actions taken between January 17, 2020 and January 20, 2021 in accordance with an Executive Order titled “Protecting Public Health and...more
1/22/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Climate Change ,
Critical Habitat ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Environmental Policies ,
Executive Orders ,
Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) ,
Navigable Waters ,
NEPA ,
Regulatory Reform ,
US Fish and Wildlife Service
On December 17, 2020 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (“USFWS”) published its 12-month finding that listing of the monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus plexippus) is warranted but precluded by higher priority actions. With...more
On December 15, 2020, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service (collectively, the agencies) released a pre-publication version of a final rule providing a definition of “habitat” for the...more
12/17/2020
/ Conservation ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Critical Habitat ,
Endangered Species ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Environmental Policies ,
ESA Listings ,
Habitat Conservation Plan ,
National Marine Fisheries Service ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Reform ,
US Fish and Wildlife Service
This is the final in our series of eAlerts on revisions to National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulations published in the Federal Register on July 16, 2020 by the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) (“Final Rule”)....more
9/4/2020
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
CEQ ,
Congressional Review Act ,
Environmental Assessments ,
Environmental Impact Statements ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Review ,
Final Rules ,
NEPA ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Trump Administration
On August 11, 2020, a federal district court in New York ruled that the unintentional or incidental “take” of migratory birds is a crime under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (“MBTA”), vacating a Department of the Interior...more
8/12/2020
/ Department of the Interior ,
Deregulation ,
Endangered Species ,
Environmental Policies ,
Incidental Take Permits ,
Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Statutory Interpretation ,
Strict Liability ,
Trump Administration ,
Vacated
Yesterday, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) released a pre-publication version of its long-awaited update to regulations governing Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) implementation (Proposed Regulations)....more
1/31/2020
/ Comment Period ,
Department of the Interior ,
Deregulation ,
Endangered Species ,
Energy Projects ,
Environmental Policies ,
Incidental Take Permits ,
Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) ,
NEPA ,
Notice of Intent ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Public Comment ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Statutory Interpretation ,
Strict Liability ,
Trump Administration ,
US Fish and Wildlife Service ,
Wind Farm ,
Wind Power
Yesterday, in Center for Biological Diversity v. Everson?, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia overturned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (USFWS) decision to list the northern long-eared bat...more
1/29/2020
/ Center for Biological Diversity ,
Chevron Deference ,
Chevron v NRDC ,
Conservation ,
Critical Habitat ,
Deregulation ,
Endangered Species ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Review ,
ESA Listings ,
Habitat Conservation Plan ,
National Marine Fisheries Service ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Remand ,
Rulemaking Process ,
US Fish and Wildlife Service ,
Vacated
The most comprehensive Endangered Species Act (“ESA”) bill of this Congressional session made its debut on July 2, 2018 when Senator John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works (“EPW”)...more
7/6/2018
/ Conservation ,
Critical Habitat ,
Delisting ,
Deregulation ,
Endangered Species ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Environmental Policies ,
ESA Listings ,
Habitat Conservation Plan ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Reform