Endangered Species Act

1
Endangered Species Act

• 2005 Legislative Action

2
House of Representatives

• On Sept. 29, 2005 the House passed H.R. 3824
  Threatened and Endangered Species Recovery Act
  of 2005 Recorded vote 229-193
• http//resourcescommittee.house.gov/

3
House of Representatives

• Statement of Administration Policyhttp//www.wh
  itehouse.gov/omb/legislative/sap/109-1/index-numbe
  r.html
• Supportive
• Focus on recovery
• Improved cooperation consultation
• Focus on partnerships with landowners
• Concerns
• Recovery planning deadlines
• Recovery agreements (mandatory compensation
  payments)
• Private landowner foregone uses (Mandatory
  compensation payments)

4
Senate

• Fisheries, Wildlife and Water Subcommittee
  activity in 2005, 3 Hearings Conducted
• Sept 21, 2005 ESA and Roles of State, Tribes and
  Local Governments
• July 13, 2005 ESA and Incentives for Private
  Landowners
• May 19, 2005 Oversight on the ESA
• Senators Chafee, Clinton, Inhofe, Jeffords,
  Crapo, and Lincoln commissioned a
  workgroupKeystone Center for Science and
  Public Policy workgroup on ESA

5
Threatened and Endangered Species Recovery Act of
2005

• Definitions Best Available Scientific Data
• Requires issuing regulations that establish
  criteria to determine which data constitute the
  best available scientific data
• The regs. would need to assure
• Compliance w/ Information Quality Act and
• Data consist of empirical data or
• Data are found in sources subject to peer review
  by qualified individuals recommended by the
  National Academy of Sciences
• Applies to
• Listing Determinations
• Consultations (Biological Assessments)
• Recovery Planning
• HCPs (Changed Circumstances)

6
Threatened and Endangered Species Recovery Act of
2005

• Listing determinations
• No other significant changes except for the new
  requirement to prepare analysis of
• Economic impact and benefit
• Impact and benefit on national security
• Other relevant impact and benefits

7
Threatened and Endangered Species Recovery Act of
2005

• Repeals all Critical Habitat determinations and
  requirements

8
Threatened and Endangered Species Recovery Act of
2005

• Recovery Plans
• Identify areas of special value in the
  interim, Critical Habitat designations are
  considered to be areas of special value for
  recovery
• Must be published within 2 years of the listing
• To the extent a recovery plan covers more than
  one state, delisting/downlisting criteria must be
  identified on a state-by-state basis
• Voluntary recovery agreements for landowners

9
Threatened and Endangered Species Recovery Act of
2005

• Section 7 Consultation
• The jeopardy analysis conducted under Section
  7(a)(2) is limited to considering only the effect
  of any agency actions that are distinct from a
  baseline of all effects upon the species that
  have occurred or are occurring prior to the
  action

10
Threatened and Endangered Species Recovery Act of
2005

• Exemptions
• Terminates the Endangered Species Committee
  Process
• Exempts officially declared disaster areas
• Exempts operators of water storage reservoirs,
  water diversion structures, canals or other
  artificial water delivery facilities from take of
  aquatic species resulting from effects of
  recreational fishing programs managed by state
  agencies

11
Threatened and Endangered Species Recovery Act of
2005

• Exemptions (cont.)
• Exempts pesticides that comply with the Federal
  Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act
  untilfurther effects analyses are completed
  under FWS/NOAA-Fisheries counterpart regs. with
  EPA, or five years from enactment of this Act,
  whichever occurs first

12
Threatened and Endangered Species Recovery Act of
2005

• Private Landowner Exemptions and Compensation
• Property owners may request a determination from
  the Secretary as to whether a proposed use of the
  owners property will comply with ESA
• A written determination from DOI/FWS must be
  provided within 180 days, and failure to issue
  the determination within the required window
  deems the proposed use in compliance with ESA
• For actions that are determined to not comply
  with ESA-- DOI must provide financial
  compensation
• The amount of the compensation is based on the
  fair market value of the forgone use of the
  affected portion of the property

13
Threatened and Endangered Species Recovery Act of
2005

• Habitat Conservation Plans (HCP)
• Codifies No Surprises policy and other aspects
  of current regs. and practices
• Provides that an incidental take permit may be
  revoked due to changed circumstances only if the
  continued activity would appreciably reduce the
  likelihood of survival and recovery of the
  species in the wild (jeopardy standard)

14
Threatened and Endangered Species Recovery Act of
2005

• Other
• Section 21 Consolidation of Programs Transfers
  all ESA functions currently in Department of
  Commerce to the Secretary of the Interior
• Section 24 Requires Secretary of Interior to
  survey all BLM and Forest Service lands to assess
  value of those lands for management for the
  recovery of listed species and for addition to
  the National Wildlife Refuge System