Endangered Species Law & Policy

Long ago, the framers of the Constitution decided to separate the federal government's powers into three branches, with each branch acting as a check on the other.  Broadly speaking, the legislative branch writes the law, the judicial branch decides what the law means, and the executive branch decides how to enforce the law.  Sometimes, however, the powers can overlap among the branches.

For example, besides writing the laws, the legislative branch also approves the budgets for the various federal agencies.  And if a particular agency budget does not include funds for ...

As recently reported by the Center for Biological Diversity, a rider has been proposed for an appropriations bill that would provide $1.5 billion to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 2017.  The controversial rider would remove current Endangered Species Act protections for gray wolf populations in Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Wyoming.  The appropriations bill, which is currently making its way through the House of Representatives, was before the House Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies on May 25, 2016 ...