Governor Brad Little issued the following statement Tuesday in response to an announcement by the Biden Administration Friday that it will undo years of progress in modernizing the Endangered Species Act under the leadership of President Donald Trump.
The Biden administration issued an order directing all federal agencies to review and address agency actions during the Trump administration’s four years, including changes to the Endangered Species Act.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service are proposing the following changes, according to the Capital Press, that would roll back reforms made under Former President Trump:
Rescind a regulatory definition of “habitat” that limits critical habitat designations to a location that “currently or periodically contains the resources and conditions necessary to support one or more life processes of a species.”
Rescind a regulation that allows the Fish and Wildlife Service to exclude federal lands from critical habitat designation based on economic considerations and other factors.
Reinstate the “blanket 4(d) rule,” which extends full endangered species protections to most species only listed as “threatened.”
Prohibit the agencies from considering the economic impacts and certain other consequences of their ESA listing decisions.
Revise regulations governing interagency consultation under Section 7 of the ESA.
Little says the current administration is undoing all the last administration’s hard work.
“The Biden Administration’s announcement that it intends to undo much of the hard work that has gone into modernizing the application of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) is a major disappointment,” Little said. “Revisions to the ESA and its implementing regulations have been long overdue. Dismantling the progress we’ve made so far will not improve the Act’s effectiveness. It only serves to reinstate unnecessary regulatory burdens on the states and local communities that are most critical to the ESA’s success.”
“Idaho has and will continue to advocate for a common-sense application of the ESA that recognizes the fundamental role regulatory flexibility plays in achieving the goals of the Act – by empowering states and local communities to lead the conservation charge to recover listed species.”
However, Biden’s announcement of the changes was a welcomed and celebrated step by many environmental groups.
