On October 23, 2014, WLF filed formal comments with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS), urging it to withdrawal several new proposed regulations that would significantly expand restrictions on private property deemed important by FWS for protecting endangered species. The Endangered Species Act (ESA) authorizes FWS to declare such land to be “critical habitat” and to restrict development of the land. WLF’s comments pointed out that the ESA generally requires FWS to show that an endangered species actually occupies the land before it can be designated as critical habitat and argued that the proposed regulations inappropriately loosen standards for when property should be deemed “occupied.” WLF also argued that FWS’s proposal would impose restrictions on an owner’s use of land designated as critical habitat that are not authorized by the ESA.
