News & Analysis as of

Environmental Policies Endangered Species National Marine Fisheries Service

Robinson+Cole Environmental Law +

First Circuit Rejects Challenges to Federal Permits for Vineyard Wind 1

In companion rulings favoring offshore wind developers and federal agencies, the First Circuit Court of Appeals recently affirmed rulings issued by the District Court (D. Mass.) and dismissed challenges brought by two...more

Beveridge & Diamond PC

FWS and NMFS Return to Stricter ESA Rules and Reverse Recent Streamlining Measures

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) (together the Services) have issued three final rules effective May 6, 2024...more

Troutman Pepper

Final ESA Rules Include Fundamental Shift in RPMs

Troutman Pepper on

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

Troutman Pepper

Final ESA Regulations Issued by the Services

Troutman Pepper on

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

Nossaman LLP

Services Finalize Endangered Species Act Regulatory Revisions

Nossaman LLP on

On March 27, 2024, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) (collectively, the Services) made available pre-publication versions of the agencies’ long-awaited updates to...more

Nossaman LLP

Resource Optimization and Endangered Species Management

Nossaman LLP on

On December 21, 2023, I published a post on the Center for California Water Resources Policy and Management’s DeltaCurrents blog discussing integration of resource optimization into endangered species policy to improve...more

Nossaman LLP

Advocacy Groups Threaten Endangered Species Act Lawsuit Against Virginia Offshore Wind Project

Nossaman LLP on

On November 13, two advocacy organizations submitted a notice of intent to sue the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM). The notice letter alleges that the September 18,...more

Nossaman LLP

Massachusetts Court Rejects Marine Mammal Protection Act Challenge to Vineyard Wind Project

Nossaman LLP on

On Friday, August 4, 2023, the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts granted summary judgment in favor of the National Marine Fisheries Service (“NMFS”) in the case of Melone v. Coit et al,...more

Beveridge & Diamond PC

Biden Administration Proposes Undoing Recent ESA Regulatory Reforms and Expanding Section 7 Consultations

Beveridge & Diamond PC on

On June 22, 2023, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services (FWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) (together “the Services”) issued three proposals largely aimed at undoing the Trump administration’s recent regulatory...more

Nossaman LLP

Services Propose New Regulatory Revisions Under the Endangered Species Act

Nossaman LLP on

On June 22, 2023, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) (collectively, the Services), issued three sets of proposed revisions to their Endangered Species Act (ESA) regulations...more

Locke Lord LLP

A Precautionary Tale: D.C. Circuit ‎Strikes Down Precautionary Principle Under the ‎Endangered ‎Species Act

Locke Lord LLP on

On June 16, 2023, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled unanimously that the National Marine Fisheries Service (“NMFS”), when faced with insufficient data, cannot rely on...more

Stoel Rives LLP

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service Issue Proposed Endangered Species Act Regulations Regarding...

Stoel Rives LLP on

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

Nossaman LLP

D.C. Circuit Vacates Biological Opinion Built on Presumption in Favor of Listed Species

Nossaman LLP on

On June 16, 2023, in a highly anticipated decision, the United States Court of Appeal for the D.C. Circuit set aside a biological opinion regarding the effects of the federal lobster fishery on the North Atlantic right whale...more

Nossaman LLP

Massachusetts Court Rejects Endangered Species Act Challenge to Offshore Wind Project

Nossaman LLP on

On Wednesday, May 17, 2023, the federal District Court for the District of Massachusetts granted summary judgment in favor of the United States Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (“BOEM”) and Vineyard Wind, and denied summary...more

Nossaman LLP

California Court Refuses to Dismiss ESA Challenge to Corps’ Operation of Coyote Valley Dam on Russian River

Nossaman LLP on

Recently, the United States District Court for the Northern District of California refused to dismiss a lawsuit filed by a concerned citizen against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) and National Marine Fisheries...more

Beveridge & Diamond PC

Complying with the Endangered Species Act

This practice note provides an overview of the Endangered Species Act (ESA), 16 U.S.C. § 1531 et seq., and discusses the obligations of real estate developers and property owners with respect to the ESA. Congress enacted the...more

Nossaman LLP

Court Sends Endangered Species Act Regulations Back to the Agencies

Nossaman LLP on

On November 16, 2022, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California (District Court) remanded three sets of Endangered Species Act (ESA) regulations promulgated in 2019 under the Trump Administration back to...more

Nossaman LLP

Court Vacates Trump-Era ESA Regulations

Nossaman LLP on

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

Nossaman LLP

Habitat Definition No Longer Applies in Critical Habitat Designations

Nossaman LLP on

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

Nossaman LLP

Department of the Interior Releases Hefty Agenda

Nossaman LLP on

On December 10, 2021, the Biden Administration released the Fall 2021 Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions (Unified Agenda), which is a semi-annual compilation of information concerning regulations and policy...more

(ACOEL) | American College of Environmental...

Right Whale in the Wrong Place at the Wrong Time

On November 16, 2021, the First Circuit Court of Appeals issued an opinion reversing a district court’s order enjoining the National Marine Fisheries Service (“NMFS”) rule that barred the use of lobster traps with traditional...more

Nossaman LLP

Six Island Species to be Removed from ESA Protections

Nossaman LLP on

In the first week of May, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (“USFWS”) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (“NMFS”) proposed rules to remove six species from the lists of endangered and threatened wildlife and plants...more

Nossaman LLP

NMFS Proposes Rule to Reduce North Atlantic Right Whale Entanglements in Fishing Gear

Nossaman LLP on

On December 31, 2020, the National Marine Fisheries Service (“NMFS”) proposed to amend regulations implementing the Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan (“ALWTRP” or “Plan”) with the stated goal of reducing  the...more

Perkins Coie

New Regulation Defines the Term “Habitat” Under the Endangered Species Act

Perkins Coie on

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service on December 16, 2020, jointly adopted a final regulation providing a one-sentence definition for the term “habitat” under the Endangered Species...more

Nossaman LLP

Federal Wildlife Agencies Release Final Rule Defining “Habitat”

Nossaman LLP on

On December 15, 2020, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service (collectively, the agencies) released a pre-publication version of a final rule providing a definition of “habitat” for the...more

56 Results
 / 
View per page
Page: of 3

"My best business intelligence, in one easy email…"

Your first step to building a free, personalized, morning email brief covering pertinent authors and topics on JD Supra:
*By using the service, you signify your acceptance of JD Supra's Privacy Policy.
- hide
- hide