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 September 30, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit issued an opinion in Save the Colorado, et al. v. Spellmon. The case arose from various conservation group challenges to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers...more
On September 30, 2022 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (“Service”) published notice in the Federal Register of a proposed rule amending its regulations authorizing permits for eagle incidental take and eagle nest take....more
On May 26, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (“Service”) released their proposal to list two distinct population segments (DPS) of the lesser prairie-chicken under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Currently, the Service is...more
Biden orders review and reversal of over 100 Trump administration environmental regulations - The New York Times – January 20 - President Joe Biden this Wednesday recommitted the United States to the Paris climate...more
U.S. formally exits Paris Climate Agreement - Bullet Associated Press – November 4 - The United States this Wednesday formally left the Paris Climate Agreement, a global pact it helped forge five years ago during the...more
In a hotly anticipated ruling on May 11, the federal district court that just a few weeks ago stunned and stalled a wide range of industries by vacating the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ (“Corps”) Nationwide Permit (“NWP”)...more
Within the past few weeks, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit has issued some very significant rulings regarding the construction of new natural gas pipelines. ...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
Report on the agencies’ review of programs provides a roadmap to understanding which energy policies the Trump administration will revise. Several federal agencies have now issued reports responding to Executive Order (EO)...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
On May 18, 2017, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court’s summary judgment decision in favor of the Secretary of the Department of the Interior and other federal officials in an...more
On December 15, 2016, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (“USFWS” or “Service”) published a proposed rule (the “Proposed Rule”) to remove the black-capped vireo (“BCV”) from the list of endangered and threatened species under...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for District of Columbia Circuit recently held that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service violated the National Environmental Policy Act by approving an Ohio wind energy project without looking at all...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 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 January 13, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) released its Final 4(d) Rule for the Northern Long-Eared Bat (Final Rule). The Final Rule greatly expands upon the scope of the interim 4(d) rule that the Service...more
Last spring, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (the “Service”) published a final rule to list the northern long-eared bat (the “Bat”) as a threatened species and an interim 4(d) rule under the Endangered Species Act (the...more
This afternoon, the Administration issued two policies intended to encourage private investment in natural resource conservation and to facilitate application of the mitigation hierarchy—avoiding, minimizing and compensating...more
Federal officials deem that state-led efforts are sufficient to protect the bird’s habitat for the near future. On September 22, the administration of US President Barack Obama announced that, given the “unprecedented”...more
On September 22, energy developers in the West breathed a sigh of relief when the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) announced that the greater sage-grouse does not require protection under the Endangered Species Act (ESA)....more
On September 4, 2015, the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued a ruling in United States v. CITGO that a “taking” subject to prosecution under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) does not include the...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
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 June 15, 2015, Senator James Inhofe (R-Okla.), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, and Congressman Rob Bishop (R-Utah), Chairman of the U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources, sent a...more