An endangered desert bighorn ram walks near Indio, Calif., in 2023. Photo: David McNew/Getty Images
House Natural Resources Chair Bruce Westerman is revamping his push to overhaul the Endangered Species Act.
Why it matters: Westerman's new bill — shared first with Axios — represents a longtime Republican dream that could make its way into the broader conversation about environmental permitting.
- Changes to major environmental laws like the ESA face an uphill climb with narrow GOP majorities. But the idea has robust support from oil, agricultural and mining companies.
Driving the news: Westerman plans Thursday to reintroduce his ESA Amendments Act, which would put limits on endangered species listings and habitat designations.
- The latest version includes new provisions that would limit agency authority to write regulations designed to reduce impact on endangered species.
- That could target rules like NOAA's vessel speed restrictions, which were intended to protect North Atlantic right whales and which industry groups oppose, according to a summary of the legislation.
- The bill would also codify so-called Candidate Conservation Agreements with Assurances, which provide incentives for non-federal landowners to do conservation work.
What he's saying: "This is a high priority since ESA hasn't been reauthorized since the 1980s, and I think what we've got in the bill will make the Endangered Species Act actually work more efficiently in recovering species," Westerman told Axios.
Zoom in: Under current law, agencies have a 12-month deadline to make a decision after getting petitions to list a species for ESA protections.
- Westerman argues this essentially leads to species getting protections by default because "groups have figured out how to cover up the agencies with petitions, and they can't respond in time."
- His bill would seek to extend that process for some species seen as lower priority via "national listing work plans" submitted to Congress.
- It would also prohibit judicial review during the five-year monitoring period after a species is delisted.
The other side: Democrats and environmental groups intensely opposed Westerman's first version of the bill last year. That looks unlikely to change.
- The earlier bill "would damage the ESA and hurt wildlife in so many ways that I cannot name them all in the time I have to speak," Ellen Medlin Richmond, a senior attorney with Defenders of Wildlife, told the Natural Resources Committee last summer.
- Natural Resources Ranking Member Jared Huffman told Nick he remains highly skeptical.
- "We do not have a problem of too many listings or listings happening too quickly. In fact, they have made it really hard to do listings," he said.
What's next: Westerman doesn't have a timeline yet for getting the bill out of committee, but he's optimistic it'll eventually pass on the House floor.
- Last year's version of the bill advanced out of his committee in a partisan vote in December.
- He said Majority Leader Steve Scalise is "very interested" in getting it to the floor.
- "There are a lot of people that are going to criticize the bill, but there are a lot of people that really like the bill," he said.
