Recent Updates to Federal Environmental and Natural Resource Regulations
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On April 13, 2023, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (“Service”) published a proposed rule to revise the critical habitat designation for the rufa red knot (Calidris canutus rufa). The red knot is a shorebird that...more
On November 7, 2022, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) proposed to designate approximately 595,495 acres of critical habitat for the Southern Sierra Nevada distinct population segment (DPS) of fisher (Pekania...more
On October 18, 2022, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) announced 12-month findings on a petition to list three California-based salamander species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA): the Kern Plateau salamander...more
For the magnificent ramshorn (Planorbella magnifica), a fresh-water snail species native to southeastern North Carolina, efforts to secure protection under the federal Endangered Species Act have progressed at a snail’s pace....more
This week, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) issued a proposed rule to list the sand dune phacelia (Phacelia argentea) as threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), along with a proposed section 4(d) rule...more
This Client Alert—Part 2 of an ongoing series—provides an overview of one of EPA’s key objectives in its draft Strategic Plan: Developing resilience and adaptation to climate change impacts. Other alerts in the series can be...more
On November 10, 2021, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) published a proposed rule to list the bracted twistflower (Streptanthus bracteatus), a plant species found only in Texas, as a threatened species under the...more
On October 25, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) published a proposed rule to designate critical habitat for the coastal distinct population segment (DPS) of Pacific marten (Martes caurina), also known as coastal...more
On January 6, 2020, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) published a proposed rule in the Federal Register announcing the agency’s finding that the Kanab ambersnail (Oxyloma haydeni kanabensis) is no longer warranted for...more
On October 24, 2019, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) published a proposed rule in the Federal Register announcing the agency’s finding that the interior least tern (Sterna antillarum) is no longer warranted for...more
The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (“USFWS”) announced in a September 9th Federal Register Notice that it was reopening the public comment period for its proposal to reclassify the American Burying Beetle (“ABB”)....more
The Monarch Butterfly is a species of concern, but not currently “listed” as a threatened or endangered species under the Endangered Species Act. In advance of the potential, and some would say likely, listing of the Monarch...more
The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (“FWS”) issued an August 14th Federal Register Notice asking for public comment on federally listed American burying-beetle incidental take permit applications. See 83 Fed. Reg....more
On July 19, 2018, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS, and collectively with FWS, the Services) announced several proposed changes to the regulations implementing the...more
On the heels of its notice of federal rulemaking under the National Environmental Policy Act (see our July 2 blog post) and other more modest efforts at reform on the administrative level, the Administration on July 19...more
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and NOAA Fisheries jointly announced via conference call this morning the publication of proposed revisions to portions of their regulations that implement key sections of the Endangered...more
On September 15, 2016, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) proposed to list as threatened the San Fernando Valley spineflower (Chorizanthe parryi var. fernandina), a plant species native to Southern California, under...more
In a long-anticipated move, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (“Service”)has published a final listing decision and interim rule on the northern long-eared bat. The Service listed the northern long-eared bat as threatened...more
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) announced yesterday its proposal to list the West Coast population of the fisher (Pekania pennanti) as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The scientific...more
The Fish and Wildlife Service and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced last week that they are extending the deadline for comments on new critical habitat rules from July 11 to October 9, 2014. The...more
On June 20, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service (“Services”), the two federal agencies responsible for administering the Endangered Species Act (“ESA”), have announced that they will...more
On September 4, 2013, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service announced that the public comment period regarding its proposed rule to remove the gray wolf (Canis lupus) from the list of endangered and threatened species, which was...more