Recent Updates to Federal Environmental and Natural Resource Regulations
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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 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
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
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 regulation of protected wildlife is likely to undergo a seismic shift as a result of the change in administrations. Whereas the Trump Administration took several actions to narrow the reach of wildlife protection...more
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service issued a proposed rule on January 30, 2020, that narrowly interprets the protections afforded by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. The new rule would provide that the MBTA prohibits only the...more
On December 22, 2017 the U.S. Department of the Interior’s (“DOI”) Office of the Solicitor issued Memorandum M-370501 (the “M-Opinion”) interpreting the take prohibition of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act2 (“MBTA”) to apply...more
On April 11, 2018, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) issued a Memorandum titled “Guidance on the recent M-Opinion affecting the Migratory Bird Treaty Act” (the “Memorandum”), giving field advice to its enforcement...more
On October 25, 2017, the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) released a report entitled “Review of the Department of the Interior Actions that Potentially Burden Domestic Energy” identifying agency actions that potentially...more
In December 2016, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) issued new regulations that provide an important mechanism for renewable energy, transmission line and other development projects to obtain eagle “incidental...more
On December 16, 2016, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) issued a long-awaited final rule (Rule) revising the regulations that govern the Service’s eagle take permit program (Eagle Permit Program) under the Bald and...more
On December 16, 2016 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) published a final rule (Final Rule) revising its 2009 regulations establishing requirements for issuance of permits for “non-purposeful take” of bald and...more
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) published an interim rule (pdf) revising its civil procedure regulations for the assessment of civil penalties for violations of various laws and regulations within the Service’s...more
On April 15, 2016, the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) issued its Draft Midwest Wind Energy Multi-Species Habitat Conservation Plan (Plan) and Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) proposing a regional approach to...more
On May 6, 2016, the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS or Service) published a proposed rule (Proposed Rule) that would substantially change how the Service administers its conservation and management program under the Bald and...more
On May 6, 2016 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) published a proposed rule (the Proposed Rule) to revise its 2009 rule establishing the requirements for issuance of permits for “non-purposeful take” of bald and...more
On May 2, 2016, the US Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) announced its second attempt to revise its rules authorizing eagle take permits under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act (Eagle Act). The rule would extend the...more
On August 11, 2015, the United States District Court for the Northern District of California struck down a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (the “Service”) regulation that increased the maximum duration of programmatic permits...more
On August 11, 2015, the US District Court for the Northern District of California remanded a US Fish & Wildlife Service’s (FWS) 2013 final rule that had extended the maximum duration of eagle take programmatic permits under...more
On August 11, 2015, a district court in Silicon Valley remanded a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) rule issued in 2013 that had extended the potential term of incidental take permits under the Bald and Golden Eagle...more
From the very first day of my legal career, clients have asked me some variation of this question: “Why can’t we just prepare a shorter Environmental Assessment (EA) or even issue a Categorical Exclusion (no analysis at all)...more
As we discussed in a post from May 2014, the American Bird Conservancy (“ABC”) in 2014 filed a lawsuit challenging the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (“USFWS”) 2013 revisions to its eagle permit rule, alleging violations of...more
As we discussed in this alert, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) released its final Eagle Conservation Plan Guidance (ECP Guidance) on April 26, 2013. Intended to promote compliance with the Bald and Golden Eagle...more