Stoel Rives Deeply Rooted Podcast Season 3 Episode 2: Forest Management, Endangered Species, and Regulatory Frameworks with Galen Schuler, General Counsel for Green Diamond Resources
Over the past year, both the executive branch and the courts sought to pare back certain stringent aspects of National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) reviews. However, a decision issued in December 2025 illustrates that...more
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) Director Brian Nesvik ordered a comprehensive, so-called top-to-bottom review on December 16, 2025, of the nation’s federal wildlife refuges and fish hatcheries....more
The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service proposed four rules on November 19, 2025, significantly changing how agencies apply the Endangered Species Act....more
As we speed towards 2026, the federal government has taken steps to resuscitate regulations adopted by the first Trump administration related to the implementation of the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The U.S. Fish and...more
On November 21, 2025, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service (collectively, the Services) published several proposed rules to revise their regulations implementing certain provisions of the...more
On November 21, 2025, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service (collectively, the Services) published several proposed rules to revise their regulations implementing certain provisions of the...more
On November 21, 2025, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) released four proposed rules revising implementation of the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Two proposed rules...more
The Center for Biological Diversity (“CBD”) submitted to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (“Service”) pursuant to Section 4(b) of the Endangered Species Act (“ESA”) a Petition to protect the Birmingham darter...more
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) (collectively, the Services) proposed four rules that would modify key Endangered Species Act (ESA) regulations. Two of the proposed...more
The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (“Service”) and National Marine Fisheries Service (“NMFS”) issued on November 19th four proposed Endangered Species Act (“ESA”) rules. To a great extent, the four proposed rules...more
On November 19, 2025, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) (collectively, the Services) released four proposed rules that would comprehensively revise key federal...more
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) (collectively, the Services) proposed revisions to the Endangered Species Act (ESA) regulations that, if finalized, will generally...more
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) published four proposed rules in the Federal Register on Nov. 21, 2025 – two of which are jointly proposed by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) – that aim to restore much of...more
Amid ongoing political shifts and court challenges over the last several years, different administrations have promulgated multiple revisions to the Endangered Species Act’s (ESA) core implementing regulations governing ESA...more
The US Senate has rejected legislation halting the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) Barred Owl Management Strategy (Strategy) set forth in its August 2024 Record of Decision (ROD), which aims to protect endangered...more
The Beltway Buzz™ is a weekly update summarizing labor and employment news from inside the Beltway and clarifying how what’s happening in Washington, D.C., could impact your business....more
California recently enacted Assembly Bill 1319, which provides increased state law protections for federally listed species that may be affected by rollbacks in the protections afforded under federal law. ...more
On October 11, 2025, Governor Newsom signed Assembly Bill (AB) 1319 into law. AB 1319 creates a swift, state-level response mechanism if Federal Endangered Species Act (FESA) protections are decreased for species native to...more
The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (“Service”) published a September 4th “Notification of Findings” in the Federal Register identifying five species it has determined are not warranted for listing as endangered or...more
The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (“Service”) published a proposed rule in the August 29th Federal Register addressing a petition requesting the listing of the Southern Hognose Snake. See 90 Fed. Reg. 42151. The...more
On August 22, 2025, the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit upheld the decision of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) to deny a petition to remove the southwestern willow flycatcher (Empidonax...more
Under Secretary Doug Burgum, the Department of the Interior (DOI) has quickly moved to implement Sections 4 and 5 of President Trump’s 7 July Executive Order 14315 titled “Ending Market Distorting Subsidies for Unreliable,...more
On August 12, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas (Midland Odessa Division) granted the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (Service) request to vacate and remand the agency’s final rule (Final Rule)...more