FWS Proposes to Eliminate Blanket Import-Export Restrictions for Threatened Species
The Fish and Wildlife Service on July 25 issued a proposed rule to remove blanket restrictions on importation and exportation of species listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. Under the proposal, current regulations extending ESA Section 9 restrictions on import, export and taking of endangered wildlife so that they also apply to threatened species would be amended so that they only affect species already listed as threatened by the effective date of any final rule. Going forward, for species listed as threatened after the change becomes effective, import and export restrictions would not automatically apply and FWS would have to issue a species-specific “Section 4(d)” rule to implement endangered species restrictions on import, export and taking.
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The change would align the approach taken by FWS to threatened species with that of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the proposed rule said. “We have gained considerable experience in developing species-specific rules over the years,” FWS said. “Where we have developed species-specific 4(d) rules, we have seen many benefits, including removing redundant permitting requirements, facilitating implementation of beneficial conservation actions, and making better use of our limited personnel and fiscal resources by focusing prohibitions on the stressors contributing to the threatened status of the species,” it said. No changes to protections already listed as threatened would result from the proposed rule, FWS said. Comments are due Sept. 24.
Hunting advocacy group Safari Club International applauded the proposed rule. “The FWS’s proposal would ensure that, moving forward, all threatened species receive the level of protection that is appropriate for each species,” it said in a statement. “This approach will free-up limited resources for more targeted and efficient recovery of threatened and endangered species.” The Center for Biological Diversity, an environmental advocacy group, criticized the proposed change. The agency’s proposal “would gut nearly all protections for wildlife newly designated as 'threatened' under the [Endangered Species Act]” and, alongside two other proposed changes to endangered species protections issued the same day, “are part of a broader effort by Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke to undercut protections for wildlife and public lands.”