Endangered Species Law & Policy

On April 3, 2026, the final rescission of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service (together, Services) definitions of the term “harm” from their respective Endangered Species Act (ESA) implementing regulations arrived at the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) for E.O. 12866 review. E.O. 12866 requires federal agencies submit “significant” proposals to OIRA prior to issuance in order to ensure, among other things, that such proposals analyze costs and benefits, and avoid conflicting policies.  There is no deadline by ...

On Tuesday, March 31, 2026, the Endangered Species Committee (Committee) – colloquially known as the God Squad – met in Washington, DC at the request of the Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth. The Committee is made up of high-ranking federal government officials, chaired by the Secretary of the Interior, that can be convened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) to grant exemptions to requirements of the ESA in certain limited circumstances. The March 31, 2026 meeting of the Committee, in which it unanimously granted an exemption for oil and gas exploration, development and production in the Gulf of America due to national security concerns, marks the first time in 30 years that the Committee has been convened. … 

On March 18, 2026, the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Fisheries, Water, and Wildlife convened a hearing to examine ongoing challenges and potential improvements in the implementation of the Endangered Species Act (ESA). As we previously reported, Rep. Westerman (R-Ark.), Chair of the House Natural Resources Committee, is the lead author of H.R. 1897, a bill to reauthorize the ESA that was voted out of that Committee in December 2025. With both chambers now engaged, we are closer to significant ESA legislative reform than at any time in the past two decades.

A ...

On February 24, 2026, the Department of the Interior (DOI) rescinded most of its regulations implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The rescission may change how DOI conducts analysis for projects that require both NEPA and Endangered Species Act (ESA) analysis. The following questions and answers provide context for what this action means and its potential impacts.

What is NEPA?

The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) is a federal statute that requires Federal agencies to assess the environmental effects of proposed major Federal actions. 42 U.S.C ...

On February 12, 2026, the California Fish and Game Commission (Commission) voted 3-0 to list mountain lions (Puma concolor) in Southern and Central California as endangered under the California Endangered Species Act (CESA).  The listing decision is based on concerns that the mountain lion population in Southern and Central California could become extinct in the foreseeable future due to fragmented habitat, barriers to movement, and human removal.  Mountain lions are now protected from take without a permit in the affected region, which includes the counties of Ventura, Los ...

Longtime California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) Director Charlton “Chuck” Bonham recently stepped down after 15 years at the helm. His departure marks the end of the longest tenure in the Department’s 150‑year history. CDFW has principal responsibility to implement California’s wildlife laws, including the California Endangered Species Act, Natural Community Conservation Planning Act, Lake and Streambed Alteration Program, and California’s fully protected species statutes.

Bonham left his post to join The Nature Conservancy as its California ...

On December 8, 2025, a Massachusetts Federal District Court struck down federal agency resistance to permitting wind energy projects. The court granted summary judgment to seventeen states and Alliance for Clean Energy New York and vacated what the court referred to as the federal agencies’ “Wind Order.”

The agencies implemented the Wind Order in response to a Presidential Memorandum issued on January 20, 2025, entitled Temporary Withdrawal of All Areas on the Outer Continental Shelf From Offshore Wind Leasing and Review of the Federal Government’s Leasing and ...

On November 21, 2025, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service (collectively, the Services) published several proposed rules to revise their regulations implementing certain provisions of the Endangered Species Act (ESA). To a substantial extent, the Services are proposing to return to the regulations put in place by the first Trump Administration in its prior rulemakings and thereby undo the changes put in place by the Biden Administration. This is the fourth in a series of blog posts that will briefly describe each proposed rule. The notice states ...

On November 21, 2025, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service (collectively, the Services) published several proposed rules to revise their regulations implementing certain provisions of the Endangered Species Act (ESA). To a substantial extent, the Services are proposing to return to the regulations put in place by the first Trump Administration in its prior rulemakings and thereby undo the changes put in place by the Biden Administration in its prior rulemakings. This is the third in a series of blog posts that will briefly describe each proposed ...

On November 21, 2025, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service (collectively, the Services) published several proposed rules to revise their regulations implementing certain provisions of the Endangered Species Act (ESA). To a substantial extent, the Services are proposing to return to the regulations put in place by the first Trump administration in its prior rulemakings and thereby undo the changes put in place by the Biden administration in its prior rulemakings. This is the second in a series of blog posts that will briefly describe each proposed ...