Members of Congress are eyeing legislation that would prevent the enforcement of a 2015 ruling on the Endangered Species Act, a change they say is necessary to avoid years of bureaucratic entanglements.
The effort stems from the case of Cottonwood Environmental Law Center v. U.S. Forest Service, in which the center said the agency needed to continue to examine whether its forest management plans were adequate to protect the Canada lynx, which is listed as threatened under the ESA.
The Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit found that the obligation to reinitiate consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service “does not terminate when the underlying action is complete,” but rather continues as long as the agency remains involved or retains control.
