The Fish and Wildlife Service and NOAA Fisheries have committed to implementing some of the Trump administration’s revised Endangered Species Act practices with nearly a year to go before those rule changes are expected to take effect.
In a legal victory for the American Farm Bureau Federation and its allies, both federal agencies effectively swore off the idea of requiring offsets for impacts on protected species and habitat.
As part of the same court case, the Fish and Wildlife Service also said it will prepare tailored protection plans for every new threatened species listing proposal. These “4(d)” rules will allow some exemptions to the absolute protections extended to species listed as endangered.
The stipulations address some — but not all — of the Trump administration’s package of proposed ESA rule changes made public last month. Those proposals would reverse many ESA policies implemented by FWS and NOAA Fisheries during the Biden administration.
