Gerald George on US Fish and Wildlife Service

Breaking Bad Habitats?

As reported in this space, in November 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court remanded to the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit a determination by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service on critical habitat for the dusky gopher frog. ...more

4/2/2019 / Critical Habitat , Endangered Species , Endangered Species Act (ESA) , Remand , US Fish and Wildlife Service

Supreme Court Decides Critical Habitat Must Be Habitat

In a unanimous decision (with Justice Kavanaugh not participating), the Supreme Court on November 27, 2018, remanded a controversial Endangered Species Act (ESA) decision for further consideration by the Fifth Circuit Court...more

11/29/2018 / Appeals , Conservation , Critical Habitat , Economic Impact Analysis , Endangered Species Act (ESA) , Judicial Review , Private Property , SCOTUS , US Fish and Wildlife Service , Weyerhaeuser Company v United States Fish and Wildlife Service

Tenth Circuit Reverses Ruling Limiting Endangered Species Act Jurisdiction Over Intra-State Species

The Tenth Circuit U. S. Court of Appeals dashed the hopes of property rights activists by overturning a district court decision that the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) had no jurisdiction under the Endangered Species Act...more

4/3/2017 / Commerce Clause , Endangered Species Act (ESA) , Jurisdiction , Private Property , Property Owners , US Fish and Wildlife Service

Fish and Wildlife Service Supports Renewable Developers and Proposes Revised Eagle Incidental Take Permit Reviving 30-Year...

On May 4, 2016, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) released a draft rule and Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) analyzing the impact of the proposed rule on eagles, and extending the duration of...more

5/12/2016 / Bird Fatalities , Energy Projects , Environmental Impact Report (EIR) , Financing , Incidental Take Permits , National Environmental Policies , Proposed Regulation , Renewable Energy , US Fish and Wildlife Service , Wind Farm

Could the US Be “Aiding and Abetting” Cape Wind MBTA Violations?

In the latest legal wrangling over the long-delayed Cape Wind Associates’ wind farm off Nantucket, during oral argument judges on the DC Circuit suggested that by permitting the wind farm, the US might be aiding and abetting...more

2/15/2016 / Energy Sector , Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) , Renewable Energy , US Fish and Wildlife Service , Wind Power

Migratory Bird Treaty Act Narrowly Interpreted: the Fifth Circuit Joins the Eighth and Ninth Circuits

The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a district court decision holding CITGO liable for three misdemeanors under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) for bird deaths (the opinion lists 35 birds, including “twenty...more

9/11/2015 / Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act , Bird Fatalities , Clean Air Act , Energy Sector , Environmental Liability , Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) , Oil & Gas , Refineries , US Fish and Wildlife Service

Windfarm Industry Suffers Setback as Court Rejects 30 Year Eagle Permit Rule

On August 11, 2015, a district court in Silicon Valley remanded a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) rule issued in 2013 that had extended the potential term of incidental take permits under the Bald and Golden Eagle...more

8/14/2015 / Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act , Endangered Species Act (ESA) , Environmental Assessments , Incidental Take Permits , National Environmental Policies , NEPA , Power Infrastructure , Silicon Valley , US Fish and Wildlife Service , Wind Power

USFWS Launches New Regulatory Program Under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act

The US Fish and Wildlife Service issued a Notice of Intent to prepare a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) to evaluate the potential environmental impacts of an incidental take program under the Migratory Bird...more

5/27/2015 / Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) , Notice of Intent , Rulemaking Process , US Fish and Wildlife Service

Comment Period Extended on Expansion of Critical Habitat Rules

The Fish and Wildlife Service and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced last week that they are extending the deadline for comments on new critical habitat rules from July 11 to October 9, 2014. The...more

6/30/2014 / Conservation , Critical Habitat , Endangered Species Act (ESA) , NOAA , Proposed Regulation , Public Comment , Rulemaking Process , US Fish and Wildlife Service

Fish and Wildlife Announces In-Depth Review of Eagle Management Policy

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced last week that it intended to conduct either a NEPA environmental assessment (EA) or an environmental impact statement (EIS) concerning its bald and golden eagle management...more

6/25/2014 / Environmental Assessments , Environmental Impact Report (EIR) , NEPA , US Fish and Wildlife Service

Migratory Bird Treaty Act Concerns Extend to Solar Plants

The Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) has a famously broad scope, outlawing the taking of over 1000 species of birds, ranging from hummingbirds to robins and crows. It is also a criminal statute, although most violations are...more

9/24/2013 / Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) , Solar Energy , US Fish and Wildlife Service

FWS Application of “Baseline” Rule Minimizes Economic Impact of Critical Habitat Designation

The Endangered Species Act (ESA) explicitly prohibits the consideration of economic impacts in making the decision to designate a species as “endangered.” However, consideration of such factors is allowed in the designation...more

9/20/2013 / Critical Habitat , Economic Impact Analysis , Endangered Species Act (ESA) , ESA Listings , US Fish and Wildlife Service

Gerald George

Davis Wright Tremaine LLP

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