Federal Agencies Propose Rescission of “Harm” Definition Under Endangered Species Act
By EsqSocial Corporation 25/04/25
On April 17, 2025, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) (collectively, the Services) published a proposed rule in the Federal Register to rescind their respective regulatory definitions of the term “harm” under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA). The proposal would eliminate language that explicitly includes “significant habitat modification or degradation” as a form of prohibited “take” when it “actually kills or injures wildlife.”...
By: Allen Matkins