The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service issued a guidance memorandum addressing when an incidental take permit may be needed under Section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Endangered Species Act for projects that modify habitat of federally...more
The U.S. Department of the Interior’s Office of the Solicitor issued Memorandum M-37050, on December 22, 2017, which adopts the position that the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) prohibition on the “taking” or “killing” of...more
On September 4, 2015, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held in United States v. CITGO Petroleum Co. that the Migratory Bird Treaty Act’s take prohibition does not include the unintentional take of migratory...more
New regulations setting standards for hydraulic fracturing, commonly known as fracking, in oil and gas wells drilled on federal lands were issued recently by the Obama administration through the U.S. Department of the...more
On March 31, 2014, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia issued a memorandum opinion upholding the approval, by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, of the first oil and gas lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico...more
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced on February 24 that it will be developing proposed regulations to adopt a significantly more stringent approach to the management of oil and gas activities associated with any...more