UPDATE: US Republican Rep. Bruce Westerman’s proposed legislation that would have narrowed protections provided under the Endangered Species Act was pulled from floor consideration today.
Endangered Species Coalition Policy Director Jewel Tomasula said:
“Given the more than 58,000 emails sent to elected officials, along with hundreds—if not thousands—of calls made in just the past few days, it is clear that the American people support the Endangered Species Act, understand its value, and want its protections for threatened and endangered wildlife to remain in place. This is a welcome sign that efforts to gut protections for imperiled species are not moving forward on Earth Day.
“We’re glad Congress is hearing their constituents’ concerns about Westerman’s harmful bill and taking pause to listen. For now, the important work to protect endangered species can continue. This Congress should leave the ESA alone.”
Original story:
A coalition of environmental advocates is warning that proposed legislation set to be voted on in the US House of Representatives today (Earth Day) could gut the Endangered Species Act.
The legislation, according to a Congressional Research Service summary, “reauthorizes through [fiscal year] 2031 the Endangered Species Act and generally narrows protections provided under the act.”
Further, CRS states:
“The bill directs the Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service to submit a National Listing Work Plan that establishes a five-year schedule and plan for addressing listing of endangered or threatened species and designation of critical habitats for such species. Under the plan, the bill gives the Services flexibility on the timing of acting on listing petitions and eliminates the requirement for the Services to act within 12 months on listing petitions.
“The bill limits what land may be designated as critical habitat for an endangered or threatened species.
“It also limits protections provided to threatened species and allows a state to regulate the recovery of such species if the Services determine the state’s proposed recovery strategy would conserve the species.
“The bill provides statutory authority for Conservation Benefit Agreements, which allow private landowners to voluntarily enter agreements to reduce threats to candidate species in exchange for being allowed to continue their operations if the species is later listed.
“The bill also modifies the permitting process for certain other voluntary conservation agreements, including by exempting incidental take permits (e.g., permits to harm or kill a species) from environmental review requirements.
“The bill also makes a variety of other changes to the act, including limiting consultation requirements, judicial review, and awards for attorneys’ fees in certain cases.”
The House Natural Resources Committee first marked up the bill last December. Arkansas Republican Rep. Bruce Westerman, the committee’s chairman, said at the time:
“Five decades after the ESA’s passage, only 3 percent of listed species have ever recovered. Special-interest lawsuits and arbitrary rules have weaponized the law against both wildlife and the communities it’s supposed to help. H.R. 1897 restores science, conservation, and sustainable economic development to America’s endangered species policy and returns the ESA to its original, bipartisan purpose as a tool for species recovery. We also advanced legislation that supports President Trump’s efforts to clean up D.C.’s streets, memorials, and parks. The American people deserve better than the crime, graffiti, and litter overrunning their nation’s capital.”
The Endangered Species Coalition warns that the proposed changes “would gut the Endangered Species Act, sideline science, weaken habitat protections, and put threatened and endangered wildlife across the country at far greater risk of extinction.”
Jewel Tomasula, the coalition’s policy director, said:
“At a time when wildlife is already under immense pressure from habitat destruction, climate change, pollution, and industrial development, Congress should be strengthening the Endangered Species Act, not tearing it apart. If Representative Bruce Westerman and Speaker Johnson have their way, Earth Day will become Extinction Day. The urgency is real. This bill is catastrophic for threatened and endangered species.”
Tomasula added:
“Westerman’s ESA Amendments Act is a devastating attack on one of America’s most successful conservation laws. If this bill becomes law, the consequences will be measured in lost protections, damaged ecosystems, and the irreversible extinction of species that can never be brought back.”
Susan Holmes, the coalition’s executive director, said:
“The Endangered Species Act works because it is rooted in science and because it recognizes a simple truth: once a species is gone, it is gone forever. We should not allow politicians to dismantle protections that have saved bald eagles, gray whales, peregrine falcons, and so many other species from disappearing forever.”
