On July 25, 2018, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Marine Fisheries Service, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (the “Services”) published three proposed rules to reform implementation of the Endangered Species Act. The publication opens a 60-day comment period ending September 24, 2018. The proposed reforms merit serious attention from companies affected by the Endangered Species Act, including but not limited to those in the energy, transportation, water, infrastructure, and land development sectors.

The July 25 Federal Register includes three separate notices for three separate proposed rules. One proposes to reform the interagency consultation process under Section 7 of the Act, which is a significant source of delay for many federal permits. Another seeks to clarify the criteria for listing and delisting protected species and for designating critical habitat. The third would remove default protections now afforded “threatened” species regulated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which currently receive the same level of protection as “endangered” species.