Category: Endangered Species Act
Incidental Take of Migratory Birds Prohibited Once Again as New MBTA Rule Becomes Effective
A U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (“FWS”) final rule that presumptively reinstates liability for incidental take under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (“MBTA”) becomes effective on December 3. The new rule revokes a Trump-era regulation that had limited the scope of the MBTA to intentional take, such as hunting...
Supreme Court Says “No Frog Habitat, No Critical Habitat”
U.S. Department of Agriculture, via Wikimedia Commons You might assume that if an endangered species is nowhere to be found on your property, you can rest easy. “No,” said the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which decided in 2012 that if your land might be a good place for...
Supreme Court Says “No Frog Habitat, No Critical Habitat”
You might assume that if an endangered species is nowhere to be found on your property, you can rest easy. "No," said the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which decided in 2012 that if your land might be a good place for the Dusky Gopher frog to live, you...
D.C. Circuit Remands BOEM Cape Wind Lease under NEPA and ESA, Punts on MBTA Challenge
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit has dealt another setback to the Cape Wind offshore wind power project by holding yesterday in Public Employees for Environmental Responsibilities v. Hopper that the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) violated...
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Proposes Revisions to Mitigation Policy
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (the “Service”) recently proposed revisions to its Mitigation Policy, which has been in place since 1981. March 8, 2016 Fed. Reg. 12380 . The Mitigation Policy serves as “over-arching Service guidance applicable to all actions for which the Service has specific authority to recommend...
USFWS Issues Expansive Final 4(d) Rule for Northern Long-Eared Bat
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) issued its final rule under section 4(d) of the Endangered Species Act regarding conservation measures for the northern long-eared bat (the “Final 4(d) Rule”). The Final 4(d) Rule replaces the interim 4(d) rule issued in April, 2015 . The Final 4(d) Rule prohibits...
Three Bat Species Listed Under Maine Endangered Species Act
Upon recommendation from the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, Governor Paul LePage signed a bill into law today listing three bat species under the Maine Endangered Species Act. The little brown bat and northern long-eared bat were listed as endangered, and the eastern small-footed bat was listed...
USFWS Lists Northern Long Eared Bat as Threatened Species
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced that it will publish a final rule in today's Federal Register designating the northern long eared bat as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. The listing will become effective May 4, 2015, at which time an interim 4(d) incidental take rule will...
USFWS, Congress Explore Incidental Take Exemption Under MBTA
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is reportedly planning to issue a notice of intent to create an incidental take permitting regime under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. The permitting scheme would theoretically allow otherwise lawful activities to go forward with greater regulatory certainty, while allowing USFWS to require...
USFWS, Congress Explore Incidental Take Exemption Under MBTA
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is reportedly planning to issue a notice of intent to create an incidental take permitting regime under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. The permitting scheme would theoretically allow otherwise lawful activities to go forward with greater regulatory certainty, while allowing USFWS to require...
U.S. District Court Grants Summary Judgment to SunEdison's Oakfield Wind Power Project on All Counts
In an order issued Friday in Protect Our Lakes v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers , No. 1:13-cv-402 (D. Me. Feb. 20, 2015), U.S. District Court Judge Jon Levy rejected claims that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ issuance of a Clean Water Act Section 404 wetlands permit to...
USFWS Proposes Take Exemptions If Northern Long-Eared Bat is Listed as Threatened under ESA
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) has proposed a rule that would exempt certain activities in certain locations from the prohibitions of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) if the northern long-eared bat (NLEB) is listed as a threatened species. In areas affected by white-nose syndrome (WNS), the proposed...
