Today, House Republicans passed two pieces of legislation aimed at modernizing the Endangered Species Act and giving local communities the power to make their own conservation decisions. 

"Today's votes on the House floor mark a significant step towards modernizing the outdated and ineffective Endangered Species Act. The verdict is in and the science is indisputable: the ESA has failed time and time again. Over its 50-year history, we've recorded only a 3 percent success rate, while lawyers and activists continue to wield this burdensome law as a political weapon instead of a conservation tool. As we continue work to modernize the ESA in our bipartisan working group, today's votes mark a crucial first step in making data-driven conservation decisions." – House Committee on Natural Resources Chairman Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.)

“As Chairman of the Western Caucus, I know firsthand how radical environmental groups will weaponize the Endangered Species Act in an attempt to end resource development and prevent responsible forest management— and these listings of the Northern Long-Eared Bat and the Lesser Prairie Chicken are their latest attempt. The Biden Administration continues to ignore our nation’s farmers, ranchers, and landowners who have worked tirelessly to help recover the Lesser Prairie Chicken’s population through habitat restoration, and uplisted the Northern Long-Eared Bat despite admitting the population decline is due to an incurable disease—not a loss of habitat. These resolutions are critical to preventing burdensome government overreach, and I will continue highlighting the importance of reforming the Endangered Species Act through the Western Caucus-Natural Resources Committee ESA Working Group to prevent future overreaching listings.” – Western Caucus Chairman Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.

“The Northern Long-Eared Bat suffers from white nose syndrome through no fault of humans, yet its endangered listing allows environmental groups to stifle development across the bat’s range, which encompasses most of the continental U.S. If we're to build infrastructure, permit electricity transmission, mine for the resources we need for everyday life, and properly manage our forests, we need commonsense habitat conservation plans that protect wildlife without harming our economy. It’s past time we return the Endangered Species Act to its intended use, rather than a tool for radical anti-development activists to exploit. I’m glad to see the House pass this resolution today to overturn this listing.” – U.S. Rep. Pete Stauber (R-Minn).

“Today’s resolutions, and my work to remove the lesser prairie-chicken from the endangered species list, push back against big government. The Biden Administration continues to use unscientific, far-fetched claims to wage proxy wars on the agriculture and energy industries and private landowners everywhere. In the case of the lesser prairie chicken, science shows that bird populations increase and decrease based on the rainfall. We need more rain, not more regulation. President Biden’s rules fly in the face of rural Americans who have worked tirelessly to voluntarily conserve our natural resources and animal habitats. Congress has spoken, and I hope that President Biden will listen – farmers, ranchers, and agricultural producers are the original conservationists, and the federal government must get out of their way and let them do what they do best.” – U.S. Rep. Tracey Mann (R-Kan.)

Background

Today the House passed two resolutions rolling back Biden administration regulations:

S.J. Res. 9 nullifies the final rule issued by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service titled Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Lesser Prairie-Chicken; Threatened Status With Section 4(d) Rule for the Northern Distinct Population Segment and Endangered Status for the Southern Distinct Population Segment.

S.J. Res. 24 nullifies the final rule issued by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service titled Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Endangered Species Status for Northern Long-Eared Bat.

In short, these resolutions would undo misguided Biden administration policies related to the Northern Long-Eared Bat and the Lesser Prairie Chicken. Companion bills were introduced in the House by U.S. Rep. Tracey Mann (R-Kan.) and U.S. Rep. Pete Stauber (R-Minn.).

The listing of the Lesser Prairie Chicken undermines the successful voluntary conservation efforts that have been undertaken by state wildlife agencies and private citizens to conserve the species. Under the Lesser Prairie Chicken Range-Wide Conservation Plan, which was adopted in 2013, private industry has invested more than $64 million in enrollment and mitigation fees toward conservation of the species. As a result, more than 6 million acres have been enrolled into voluntary conservation plans and private conservation efforts have seen a population increase of over 15,000. S.J. Res. 9 rolls back the listing and gives local communities the power to manage their own conservation efforts.

In the listing of the Northern Long-Eared Bat, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service states that White-Nose Syndrome (WNS), not human activity, is the main threat to the bat. While there is no meaningful connection between the spread of WNS and human activity, the Service’s decision to list the bat as endangered will have significant impacts across 37 states and further restrict forest management and infrastructure project permitting on both private and public lands. S.J. Res. 24 walks back the Biden administration’s misguided listing of the Northern Long-Eared Bat as endangered and would continue to protect the bat as a threatened species.