Do Freshwater Mussels Deserve ESA Protection?
Posted in Congress

On August 10, 2018, the representative from Indiana's 4th Congressional District introduced a bill entitled: "To amend the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to remove freshwater mussels from the list of endangered and threatened species."  While the text of the bill isn't yet available, based on the title of the bill one can reasonably surmise that the author of the bill believes that freshwater mussels are not deserving of Endangered Species Act protection.  Further, this interpretation is supported by recent articles detailing the representative's long-running opposition to freshwater mussel protection.  For example, one recent article implies that the bill's author believes that prior actions taken under the Endangered Species Act have damaged the community he represents, and that when weighing the interests of his community against freshwater mussels, the scales tip decidedly against Endangered Species Act protection for freshwater mussels.  (See, e.g., Greenwire Story entitled "House Republican bill would strip protection for mussels" dated August 13, 2018.)  While bills like this often fail to make it to a full floor vote, stay tuned as we will continue to follow the bill's progression or lack thereof.

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  • Benjamin Z. Rubin
    Partner

    Ben Rubin is chair of Nossaman’s Environment & Land Use Group. Ben assists developers, public agencies, landowners and corporate clients on a variety of complex land use and environmental matters. He counsels clients on matters ...

Nossaman’s Endangered Species Law & Policy blog focuses on news, events, and policies affecting endangered species issues in California and throughout the United States. Topics include listing and critical habitat decisions, conservation and recovery planning, inter-agency consultation, and related developments in law, policy, and science. We also inform readers about regulatory and legislative developments, as well as key court decisions.

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