Court Strikes Down Multiple Trump-Era ESA Reforms

What happened: A federal district court in California July 5 struck down multiple Trump-era reforms to the Endangered Species Act (ESA).

Why it matters: The decision repealed multiple rules aimed at clarifying ESA regulations, including how a ‘critical habitat’ for species is listed, how endangered species are protected from harm and how the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) interacts with other agencies on ESA issues. With the rules struck down, FWS will revert back to earlier regulations which allowed the agency to define a habitat for species on an ad-hoc, case by case basis. This approach resulted in confusion for the regulated community as the agency often set aside huge geographic areas as critical habitats under the ESA, increasing the regulatory burdens to make transportation improvements in those areas.

What’s next: The FWS is set to determine whether or not the northern long-eared bat is an ‘endangered species’ in the near future. The bat has a habitat which spawns 37 states. With the repeal of the Trump-era reforms, the court’s decision will increase regulatory burdens should the FWS decide that the bat is an ‘endangered species.”

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