Regulatory Changes to the Endangered Species Act

Overview

The Endangered Species Act (ESA) establishes a regulatory framework for the protection and recovery of endangered and threatened species of plants, fish and wildlife. 16 U.S.C. § 1531, et seq.  The ESA has the potential to restrict substantially agricultural activities because many of the protections provided for threatened and endangered species under the ESA extend to individual members of the species when they are on private land where many endangered species have some habitat.

In late July of 2018, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) issued three proposed rules designed to modify certain aspects of the ESA. Public comment on the proposed rules was accepted until September 24, 2018.  On August 12, 2019, the agencies announced the finalization of the regulations.

The ESA regulatory changes and their relevance to agriculture – that’s the topic of today’s post.

Background

The regulatory modifications to the ESA stem from early 2017 when President Trump signed an executive order (Exec. Order 13777, “Enforcing the Regulatory Reform Agenda”) requiring federal agencies to revoke two regulations for every new rule issued.  The order also required federal agencies to control the costs of all new rules within their budget. In addition, the order barred federal agencies from imposing any new costs in finalizing or repealing a rule for the remainder of 2017 unless that cost were offset by the repeal of two existing regulations.  Exceptions were included for emergencies and national security.  Beginning in 2018, the order required the director of the White House Office of Management and Budget to give each agency a budget for how much it can increase regulatory costs or cut regulatory costs.  The order was touted as the “most significant administrative action in the world of regulatory reform since President Reagan created the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) in 1981."

The ESA has long been considered critical to species protection, but it has also been one of the most contentious environmental laws largely because of its impact on the usage of private as well as public land.  The judicial and legal costs of enforcing the ESA are quite high, as both environmental and industry groups have historically brought litigation to protect their interests on account of the ESA. 

As for private land, about half of ESA listed species have at least 80 percent of their habitat on private lands.  This has given concern to landowners that the presence of a listed species on their land will result in land use restrictions, loss in value, and possible involvement in third-party lawsuits.  

Under the ESA, “fish and wildlife” species are defined as any member of the animal kingdom, including without limitation any mammal, fish, bird...amphibian, reptile, mollusk, crustacean, arthropod, or other invertebrate. 16 U.S.C. § 1532(8). “Plants” are defined as any member of the plant kingdom. 16 U.S.C. § 1532(14).  An “endangered species” is a species which is in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant part of its range other than a species determined by the USFWS to constitute a pest whose protection under the provisions of the Act would present an overwhelming and overriding risk to humans. 16 U.S.C. § 1532(6). A “threatened species” is a species which is likely to become endangered within the foreseeable future throughout all or a significant portion of its range. 16 U.S.C. § 1532(20).  The term “species” includes any subspecies of fish or wildlife or plants and any distinct population segment of any species of vertebrate fish or wildlife which interbreeds when mature. 16 U.S.C. § 1532(16).

The Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) determines when a species is to be listed as either threatened or endangered.  Presently, there are about 1,700 species listed under the ESA as either endangered or threatened.  The listing decision historically has been made on the basis of the best available scientific and commercial data without reference to possible economic or other impacts after the USFWS conducts a review of the status of the species. 16 U.S.C. § 1533(b)(1)(A); 50 C.F.R. 424.11. There is, however, no statutory threshold definition or quantification of the level of data necessary to support a listing decision. Indeed, the information supporting a listing decision need not be credible; only the “best available.”

The USFWS considers species for listing on its own initiative, but the ESA also provides a listing petition process for “interested persons” to force evaluation and listing of a species. Within 90 days of receiving a petition for listing, the USFWS must determine whether the petition presents substantial information to warrant listing of the species.  If the USFWS concludes that the petitioned action is warranted, it then conducts a review of the species' status and must determine within one year of the receipt of the petition whether to propose formally the species for listing. The Secretary's decision to list a species as endangered or threatened is based upon the presence of at least one of the following factors; (1) the present or threatened destruction, modification, or curtailment of a species' habitat or range; (2) the over-utilization for commercial, sporting, scientific or educational purposes; (3) disease or predation; (4) the inadequacy of existing regulatory mechanisms; or (5) other natural or manmade factors affecting a species' continued existence. The USFWS may decline to list a species upon publishing a written finding either that listing is unwarranted or that listing is warranted, but that the USFWS lacks the resources to proceed immediately with the proposal.  Under the ESA, all USFWS decisions to decline listing a species are subject to judicial review.

When a species is listed as endangered or threatened, the Secretary must consider whether to designate critical habitat for the species.   “Critical habitat” is the specific area within the geographical range occupied by the species at the time of listing that is essential to the conservation of the species. Critical habitat may also include specific areas outside the geographical area occupied by the species at the time it is listed if the USFWS determines that such areas are essential for conservation of the species. However, critical habitat need not include the entire geographical range which the species could potentially occupy.  16 U.S.C. § 1532(5).   In making a critical habitat determination, the USFWS must consider economic impacts and other relevant impacts, as well as best scientific data. See, e.g., New Mexico Cattle Growers Association. v. United States Fish and Wildlife Service, 248 F.3d 1277 (10th Cir. 2001).   The USFWS may exclude any area from critical habitat if the benefits of the exclusion outweigh the benefits of specifying the area as critical habitat, unless the USFWS determines on the basis of best scientific and commercial data available that the failure to designate an area as critical habitat will result in the extinction of the species.

The Final Rules

In general.  The final rules are entitled, “Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Revision of the Regulations for Listing Species and Designating Critical Habitat.”  83 Fed. Reg. 35,193 (Aug. 12, 2019).  The final rules will be codified at 50 C.F.R. pt. 424 and clarify the procedures and criteria that are used to add or remove species from the endangered and threatened species lists and how their critical habitat is designated.  The new rules also eliminate the rule that, by default, extended many prohibitions on endangered species to those species that only had threatened stats.  In addition, the final rules further define the procedures for interagency cooperation. 

The listing process.  The final rules modify the ESA listing process.  The final rule allows for economic impacts of the potential listing, delisting or reclassifying of a species to be accounted for.  The findings of anticipated economic impact must be publicly disclosed.  In addition, the Secretary must evaluate areas that are occupied by the species, and unoccupied  areas will only be considered “essential” where a critical habitat designation that is limited only to the geographical areas that a species occupies would be inadequate to ensure conservation of the species.  In addition, for an unoccupied area to be designated as critical habitat, the Secretary must determine that there is a reasonable certainty that the area will contribute to the conservation of the species and that the area contains one or more physical or biological features essential to the conservation of the species.  Also, a “threatened” listing for a species is to be evaluated in accordance with whether the species is likely to become endangered in the “foreseeable future” (as long as a threat is probable). 

The final rules also require any critical habitat for a listed species designation to first take into account all areas that a species occupies at the time of listing before considering whether any unoccupied areas are necessary for the survival or recovery of the species. On that point, a determination must be made that “there is a reasonable likelihood that the area will contribute to the conservation of the species” before designating any unoccupied area as critical habitat.  This is consistent with the U.S. Supreme Court opinion in Weyerhaeuser Co. v. United States Fish & Wildlife Service, 139 S. Ct. 361(2018), where the Court held that an endangered species cannot be protected under the ESA in areas where it cannot survive. 

The “blanket rule.”  The ESA statutory protections, including the prohibition on an “unauthorized take” of a species apply only to endangered species. However, the USFWS has automatically extended those protections to all species listed as threatened through a broad regulation known as the “blanket 4(d) rule.” The final rules remove these automatically provided protections to threatened species that are given to endangered species.  As a result, the USFWS will be required to develop additional regulations for threatened species on a case-by-case basis to extend the protections given endangered species.    

Agency cooperation.  The final rules also provide alternative mechanisms intended to improve the efficiency of ESA consultations conducted by the USFWS and federal agencies. The revisions include a process for expedited consultation in which a federal agency and the USFWS may enter into upon mutual agreement. A 60-day limit is included for completion of informal consultations with the option to extend the consultation to no more than 120 days.

Conclusion

The ESA has been termed the “pit bull” of environmental law.  It has a history since its enactment in 1973, and the landmark Supreme Court case of Tennessee Valley Authority v. Hill, 437 U.S. 153 (1978), of being the nation’s most controversial environmental law because of its impact on landowners and others.   The final regulations are an attempt to inject additional common-sense into the application of the ESA and align it to a greater extent to its original purpose.  Another intended impact is a decreased burden on farmers and ranchers.  Only time will tell if these goals are actually accomplished.