On April 5, 2024, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) (collectively, the Services) finalized three sets of revisions to the regulations implementing the Endangered...more
On March 27, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) (collectively, the Services) issued three sets of final rules revising the Endangered Species Act (ESA) regulations. The...more
The Endangered Species Act regulations have become a political hot potato, with regulatory revisions occurring each time there is a change in administration. On March 28, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the...more
On June 24, 2022, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service (collectively, Services) published a final rule rescinding the Trump administration’s 2020 final rule defining “habitat” for the...more
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers published its final rule for the Reissuance and Modification of Nationwide Permits in the waning days of the Trump Administration. The final rule reissues and modifies 12 existing nationwide...more
The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service adopted a final regulation on December 18, 2020, to establish a process and the criteria for excluding areas from critical habitat designations under the Endangered Species Act. The final...more
The Trump administration recently issued three final rules revising several key aspects of the Endangered Species Act (“ESA”), including: (1) listing species and designating critical habitat under § 4 of the ESA; (2)...more
Last week, final rules from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service (collectively, “the Services”) impacting key components of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) were published in the...more
On August 27, 2019, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service (collectively, the “Services”) published final rules amending three important parts of the federal regulations that implement the...more
On August 12, 2019, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (“USFWS”) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (“NMFS”) (together the “Services”) jointly announced final revisions to their regulations for listing and delisting...more
On August 17, 2017, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) issued a final rule designating critical habitat for the endangered New York Bight, Chesapeake Bay, Carolina, and South Atlantic Distinct Population Segments...more
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) have issued listing decisions on a number of species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in recent days, and USFWS has announced...more
Action Item: The National Marine Fisheries Services (“NMFS”) promulgated a final rule identifying critical habitats for the endangered Northern Atlantic Right Whale. Stakeholders involved in spill response, ocean and offshore...more
On February 5, 2016, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service (collectively, the “Services”) announced the availability of two final rules and one policy addressing critical habitat under the...more
On February 10, 2015, the National Marine Fisheries Service and the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (“Services”) issued a final rule (pdf) to include captive killer whales in the Southern Resident killer whale...more
The National Marine Fisheries Service (Service) recently published its final rule listing five species of sawfish as endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The final rule contains the Service’s determination that...more
On July 1, 2014, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service jointly published a final policy providing their interpretation of the phrase ‘‘significant portion of its range,’’ which is part...more