Ranking Member Grijalva Statement on Biden Administration’s Proposed Updates to Endangered Species Act Regulations
Washington, D.C. – House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) today issued the following statement on the Biden administration’s newly proposed revisions to the three implementing regulations of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) that were issued under the Trump administration in 2019. The Trump-era regulations significantly weakened implementation of the ESA, a longstanding industry request.
“With the dual threats of the climate crisis and major biodiversity loss looming, our federal agencies must have full authority to use sound, science-based decision-making to recover imperiled species,” Ranking Member Grijalva said. “Like most of the previous administration’s actions, the 2019 regulations were an industry handout that undermined science and put species at risk. I’m pleased to see the Biden administration making progress in its promise to protect the future of conservation by rejecting Trump-era industry giveaways and advancing science-based species management. I’m also encouraged by the administration’s commitment to conduct thorough public engagement and tribal consultation and look forward to a set of final rules that better align with the congressional intent of the Endangered Species Act.”
The proposed revisions will 1) clarify how the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) list, delist, and re-classify species and designate critical habitat, 2) address interagency cooperation (consultation) under section 7 of the ESA, and 3) reinstate FWS’s “blanket 4(d) rule” for extending certain endangered species protections to threatened species.
On the third proposed revision, Ranking Member Grijalva said, “To ensure a baseline of protection for all threatened species, I encourage NMFS to institute the blanket 4(d) rule as well.”
Per Executive Order 13990, Protecting Public Health and the Environment and Restoring Science To Tackle the Climate Crisis, the Biden administration announced the initiation of rulemaking to revise the Trump-era ESA regulations in June 2021. In June 2022, the Biden administration rescinded the regulation that narrowed the definition of “habitat” under ESA.
Press Contact
202-740-4715
Next Article Previous Article