On-Demand Webinar | Recent Updates to Federal Environmental and Natural Resource Regulations
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On June 22, 2023, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (“FWS”) and National Marine Fisheries Service (“NMFS”) (collectively, “the Services”) published three proposed rules related to implementation of the Endangered Species Act...more
On July 5, 2022, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California issued an order vacating three Trump-era regulations implementing the Endangered Species Act (“ESA”)....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
A group of 14 Democratic AGs, led by California AG Rob Bonta, Maryland AG Brian Frosh, and Massachusetts AG Maura Healey, filed a comment letter with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries...more
On October 27, 2021, the Biden administration proposed two new rules to roll back its predecessor’s regulatory clarifications involving habitat under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Under the first proposal, the United...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
JANUARY 2020 - FEDERAL APPELLATE COURTS - U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit - El Paso County, Texas, et al. v. Donald J. Trump, et al. On January 8, 2020, a divided panel of the court quickly granted a...more
On 7 January 2021, the Trump administration finalized a new rule that limits the scope of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA or the Act). Under the new rule (which President Biden has already directed the Department of the...more
On November 3, 2020, the United States Fish & Wildlife Service (“Service”) published a final rule removing the gray wolf (canis lupus) from the federal list of Endangered and Threatened Species in the lower 48 United States...more
The United States Fish and Wildlife Service ("Service") recently released a pre-publication version of its final rule to reclassify the American burying beetle (Nicrophorus americanus) from endangered to threatened under the...more
White House directs agencies to relax enforcement - Los Angeles Times – September 9 - A memorandum produced by the White House Office of Management and Budget and sent to federal agency heads last week instructs them to...more
On August 19, 2020, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) published a proposed rule that would remove the Stephens’ kangaroo rat (Dipodomys stephensi) from the federal list of Endangered Species....more
Federal court rejects attempt to toss endangered species lawsuit - Bullet The Hill – May 19 - On Monday, Judge Jon Tigar, of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, denied the federal...more
The greater sage-grouse is a chicken-like bird that is currently found in 11 western states. For more than 25 years, there has been considerable controversy concerning whether to list the greater sage-grouse for protection...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
There has been much coverage and misinformation in the public discourse regarding Interior’s recently-announced revisions of regulations to implement the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Doug Wheeler and Hilary Tompkins bring...more
On August 12, 2019, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (“FWS”) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Marine Fisheries Service (“NMFS”) (collectively “Services”) jointly announced three rules that...more
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service issued a set of three new final rules on August 12, 2019, that substantially revise the regulations implementing the Endangered Species Act. The new...more
More than a year after the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) (collectively, Services) published proposals to revise several Endangered Species Act (ESA) implementing...more
Federal Appeals Court Vacates Key Atlantic Coast Pipeline Permit - "A federal appeals court has pulled another permit issued to the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, saying the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service had fast-tracked the...more
On March 15, 2019, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (“Service”) issued a proposed rule to remove the gray wolf (Canis lupus) from the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife. ...more
Acting Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior, David Bernhardt, recently announced that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) will publish a proposed rule removing federal protections under the Endangered...more
The longest partial government shutdown in United States history is taking its toll on Endangered Species Act (ESA) policy initiatives championed by the Trump Administration, and is making ESA compliance and project...more
The Trump Administration issued a document on October 19th titled: Presidential Memorandum on Promoting the Reliable Supply and Delivery of Water in the West (“Memorandum”)...more
Amidst much fanfare, on Friday President Trump released a Presidential Memoranda (much like an Executive Order, yet different?) directing Federal agencies to work together to reduce regulatory burdens on Western water...more