Long-awaited Endangered Species Act rule changes that unravel Trump administration actions are expected to be issued soon, a move certain to spur both renewed debate and another round of litigation from aggrieved parties.
The ESA package got the green light from the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs on Monday, about three months after being submitted to the rulemaking gatekeepers. With the White House review now complete, the Fish and Wildlife Service and NOAA Fisheries could soon roll out the final ESA regulations.
The agencies received well over 160,000 public comments to the batch of proposals.
“ESA restrictions are especially harsh for farmers because they can prevent our members from making productive use of their primary business assets,” Illinois Farm Bureau President Richard Guebert Jr. wrote, adding that “species protection can be more effectively achieved by offering incentives to private landowners rather than by imposing land and water use restrictions and penalties.”
