Proposed Rule Reduces Wildfires, Supports Conservation and Creates Jobs

Press Release

U.S. Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho) and U.S. Representative Matt Rosendale (R-Mont.) today led a bicameral letter to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services (FWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) in support of a proposed rule to reduce roadblocks created by the Cottonwood decision and help spur responsible forest management and conservation projects on federal lands.

Specifically, the proposed rule will release the Forest Service from reinitiating consultation with FWS on ready-to-go land management projects every time "new information" is found about possible impacts on endangered species, reigniting a cycle of red tape and activist litigation.

"The proposed rule will allow land managers and wildlife biologists to follow the best-available science for consultation," the letter read in part. "It will remove an ambiguity in current regulations that have led to more lawsuits than conservation work. This rule is critical to improve the health of our nation's forests, advance wildlife restoration projects, reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfires, and support timber jobs."

In addition to Risch and Rosendale, signers of the letter include U.S. Senators Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), and John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), and U.S. Representatives Mike Simpson (R-Idaho), Russ Fulcher (R-Idaho), Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.), Yvette Herrell (R-N.M.), and Jim Baird (R-Ind.).

Background: In 2015, the Ninth Circuit Court ruled in Cottonwood Environmental Law Center v. United States Forest Service (Cottonwood) that the U.S. Forest Service needed to reinitiate consultation with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at the programmatic level following the 2009 designation of critical habitat for the Canada lynx. As a result, courts halted projects during the consultation process throughout the 18 national forests inhabited by lynx. In 2018, a partial legislative fix was achieved, but "new information" claims under the Cottonwood ruling continue to have damaging implications for forests across the West.

Last year, Daines, Risch, and others introduced legislation to provide a legislative fix to the misguided Cottonwood decision and ensure continued responsible forest management on federal lands.

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