Fish and Wildlife Service updates rules for excluding critical habitats

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is updating its regulations regarding how it handles “critical habitat” under the Endangered Species Act. When the government designates an area as a critical habitat for an endangered species, it can choose to exclude certain parts of that area if there are good reasons to do so.

Why it matters: This is primarily an administrative update that clarifies how the agency performs its “exclusion analysis” when deciding which lands should or should not be protected as critical habitat.

Who it affects

• Landowners and developers

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This action was taken by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; readers should consult the Federal Register for the full text before relying on these rules.

Agency: Interior Department, Fish and Wildlife Service
Source: Federal Register — read the official document