Ten AGs Filed Comments Opposing Proposal to Exempt Federal Land Management Plans from Certain Endangered Species Act Consultation Requirements

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh, and Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey led a coalition of 10 attorneys general in filing comments in opposition to a proposal by the Trump administration to establish that the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management are not required to reinitiate Endangered Species Act (ESA) consultation when new information surfaces regarding effects of the agencies’ land management plans on protected species. The AGs warned that the proposal “is directly contrary to both the procedural and substantive requirements of section 7 and the broad conservation purposes of the ESA,” and emphasized that it does not qualify for categorical exclusion from National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) review as the agencies suggest.

• Documents: Comments
• Document Type: Comment Letters
• States: California Illinois Maryland Massachusetts Minnesota New Jersey New Mexico New York Pennsylvania Washington
• Agencies: Department of Commerce Department of the Interior National Marine Fisheries Service National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
• Issues: Endangered Species Act Natural Resources Public Lands Public Lands & Wildlife Wildlife
• Era: Biden Administration
• Action Type: Rulemaking & Other Federal Administrative Proceedings