Rep. Huffman Statement on Administration’s Rules to Protect Endangered Species and Habitats

March 28, 2024

Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Representative Jared Huffman (CA-02) released the following statement regarding the Biden-Harris administration’s rulemaking to strengthen protections and recovery of threatened and endangered species and their habitats:  

“Today’s rulemaking is a positive step forward by the Biden administration in rejecting Trump’s industry giveaways and moving toward more science-based species management,” said Rep. Huffman. “Extreme MAGA Republicans have spent their time in the House majority waging war on the Endangered Species Act, taking every avenue and opportunity to weaken it and make room for special industry loopholes. We need to quickly get the government realigned with how the ESA was intended to operate, and these new rules will get us closer. However, there is still a lot we need to accomplish – the administration must completely remove Trump’s old rules so our efforts to protect imperiled species have longevity and durability even when under attack by Republicans.”  

The Department of the Interior’s U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Department of Commerce’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries) have finalized three rules that will restore important protections for species and their habitats, strengthen the processes for listing species, designating of critical habitat, and consultation with other federal agencies; and ensure a science-based approach that will improve both agencies’ ability to fulfill their responsibilities under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). 

On June 22, 2023, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and NOAA Fisheries announced three proposed rules revising portions of the ESA implementing regulations. Following the release of the Biden administration’s proposed rules, Rep. Huffman sent a letter to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in August 2023, making several recommendations to strengthen the draft regulations. 

The final rules and additional information are available on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’sEndangered Species Act Regulations website and will publish in the coming days in the Federal Register at https://www.regulations.gov/ by searching Docket No. FWS-HQ-ES-2021-0104, Docket No. FWS-HQ-ES-2021-0107, and Docket No. FWS-HQ-ES-2023-0018. The rules will be effective 30 days after publication.