Protecting America’s Wildlife and Reforming Outdated ESA Rules

Today, the Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife, and Fisheries held a legislative hearing on four bills that would modernize the Endangered Species Act, curb federal overreach into states’ water rights, and reauthorize important programs for healthy wildlife and ecosystems. Subcommittee Chairman Cliff Bentz (R-Ore.) issued the following statement in response:

“The legislation the Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife, and Fisheries considered today will continue our efforts to address federal usurpation of state control and authority over state water resources, combat the nutria invasion, and reauthorize essential U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service conservation programs. By strengthening transparency, species recovery efforts, and responding to recent Supreme Court rulings, these measures balance conservation approaches. These reforms will protect our communities while safeguarding our natural environment.”

Background

Draft for discussion HR _____, The ESA Amendment Act 2024 filed by House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.), introduces key reforms to the ESA to clarify existing definitions and establish an environmental baseline for measuring successful outcomes. The legislation will encourage the recovery of listed species, promote species conservation on private and public lands, and create greater transparency and accountability in the ESA regulatory process.

Journal of Laws 7544, Water Rights Protection Act of 2024 Introduced by U.S. Rep. Celeste Maloy (R-Utah), requires that any action taken by the Federal government that affects water rights shall not impose greater restrictions than those imposed by applicable State law. This bill would establish long-term precedents by giving States the first say in establishing water rights.

HR number 8811, The America’s Environmental Protection Advancement (ACE) Act of 2024 Introduced by U.S. Representative Rob Wittman (R-Va.), reauthorizes and amends conservation programs authorized under the original ACE Act, which was first signed into law in 2020. These programs include the North American Wetland Conservation Program, the Chronic Wasting Disease Task Force, and others.

HR number 8308, The Nutria Eradication and Control Reauthorization Act of 2024, filed by U.S. Representative Josh Harder (Democrat of California), reauthorizes a program to eliminate nutria, an invasive rodent species, in the Chesapeake Bay in Louisiana and other places where nutria have caused significant damage to ecosystems.

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