On March 29, 2025, a Texas District Court ruled that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) should have considered economic costs when crafting protections for the lesser-prairie chicken, a threatened species, under Section...more
On December 12, 2024, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) proposed listing the monarch butterfly as a threatened species with a special section 4(d) rule under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The special 4(d) rule...more
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) (together the Services) have issued three final rules effective May 6, 2024...more
On June 22, 2023, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services (FWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) (together “the Services”) issued three proposals largely aimed at undoing the Trump administration’s recent regulatory...more
This practice note provides an overview of the Endangered Species Act (ESA), 16 U.S.C. § 1531 et seq., and discusses the obligations of real estate developers and property owners with respect to the ESA. Congress enacted the...more
Project development east of the Rocky Mountains may be about to become exponentially more difficult in light of a new proposal under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). On March 23, 2022, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS)...more
Under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), there are a number of key terms that shape the scope of species protection. These key terms, usually defined in the Act itself or through agency regulation, include terms such as...more
Long-sought reforms to Endangered Species Act (ESA) implementation have arrived. On August 27, 2019, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) finalized regulations (the 2019...more
Effectively restarting a contentious listing process, on April 12, 2019, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service reopened public comment on 2013 proposed rules listing the Bi-State distinct population segment of greater...more