Endangered Species Act (ESA)
Species Protection as a Natural Climate Solution
Author
Mackenzie Landa
Author Bios (long)

Mackenzie Landa is Counsel for the U.S. House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis, where she leads the Committee’s work on nature-based climate solutions.

Date
June 2020
Volume
50
Issue
6
Page
10498
Type
Articles
Summary

This Article, adapted from Chapter 16 of What Can Animal Law Learn From Environmental Law?, 2d Edition (ELI Press, forthcoming 2020), explores existing and potential wildlife conservation policies that could play a vital role in mitigating global climate change. It describes how climate change is impacting wildlife and biodiversity around the globe and reviews the history and current state of U.S. policy, including how the federal government currently manages climate change issues under the ESA. It then proposes ways that the ESA and other wildlife conservation policies can mitigate climate change as natural climate solutions. It analyzes new wildlife conservation policies for their potential to mitigate climate change, and concludes that these can provide much-needed protection for species and biodiversity, while also serving as a valuable and meaningful tool to combat climate change.

H.R. 6035
Update Type
Committee Name
Committee on Natural Resources
Sponsor Name
Peterson
Sponsor Party Affiliation
D-Minn.
Issue
4
Volume
50
Update Issue
8
Update Volume
50
Congress Number
116
Congressional Record Number
166 Cong. Rec. H1423

would require the Secretary of the Interior to issue a final rule relating to the delisting of the gray wolf under the ESA.

H.R. 5705
Update Type
Committee Name
Committee on Natural Resources and the Committee on Agriculture
Sponsor Name
Cheney
Sponsor Party Affiliation
R-Wyo.
Issue
3
Volume
50
Update Issue
4
Update Volume
50
Congress Number
116
Congressional Record Number
166 Cong. Rec. H712

would amend the ESA to restrict the Secretary's ability to alter permits.

H.R. 5694
Update Type
Committee Name
Committee on Natural Resources
Sponsor Name
McClintock
Sponsor Party Affiliation
R-Cal.
Issue
3
Volume
50
Update Issue
4
Update Volume
50
Congress Number
116
Congressional Record Number
166 Cong. Rec. H633

would amend the ESA to require publication on the Internet of the basis for determinations that species are endangered species or threatened species.

"Significant Portion of Its Range": Statutory Interpretation of the ESA
Author
Quint Doan
Author Bios (long)

Quint Doan is a 2021 J.D. candidate at Yale Law School.

Date
February 2020
Volume
50
Issue
2
Page
10146
Type
Articles
Summary

The Endangered Species Act defines an endangered species as one at risk of extinction “throughout all or a significant portion of its range.” The U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) has repeatedly defined “significant portion” to mean an area of the range essential to species persistence. This definition is redundant, and various iterations of the definition have been struck down in the past. At the same time, other proposals to list a species only in a portion of its range fail to satisfy the statutory requirements. This Article proposes to define “significant portion of its range” so as to allow DOI to list a species as endangered throughout its entire range based only on the risk of extinction in a portion of its range. The Article also provides a framework for understanding how past policies have failed.

H.R. 5638
Update Type
Committee Name
Committee on Natural Resources
Sponsor Name
Biggs
Sponsor Party Affiliation
R-Ariz.
Issue
3
Volume
50
Update Issue
3
Update Volume
50
Congress Number
116
Congressional Record Number
166 Cong. Rec. H325

would amend the ESA to prevent a species that is not native to the United States from being listed as an endangered species or a threatened species and prohibit certain types of financial assistance.

H.R. 5594
Update Type
Committee Name
Committee on Natural Resources
Sponsor Name
Smith
Sponsor Party Affiliation
R-Mo.
Issue
3
Volume
50
Update Issue
3
Update Volume
50
Congress Number
116
Congressional Record Number
166 Cong. Rec. H207

would provide for greater county and state consultation with regard to petitions under the ESA.

H.R. 5591
Update Type
Committee Name
Committee on Natural Resources
Sponsor Name
Johnson
Sponsor Party Affiliation
R-La.
Issue
3
Volume
50
Update Issue
3
Update Volume
50
Congress Number
116
Congressional Record Number
166 Cong. Rec. H207

would amend the ESA to add requirements to the designation of areas as critical habitats.

H.R. 5588
Update Type
Committee Name
Committee on Natural Resources
Sponsor Name
Newhouse
Sponsor Party Affiliation
R-Wash.
Issue
3
Volume
50
Update Issue
3
Update Volume
50
Congress Number
116
Congressional Record Number
166 Cong. Rec. H207

would amend the ESA to provide for consideration of the totality of conservation measures in determining the impact of proposed federal agency action.

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