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Keeping Endangered Species Act Consultations On Track After Regulatory "Rug Pull"
A federal court rolled back Endangered Species Act consultation rules to pre-2019 regulations, despite ongoing revisions by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Senior Natural Resources Technical Director • Austin
Amanda Glen
Amanda Glen is SWCA’s natural resources technical director for biological services and provides strategic guidance on permitting and compliance for matters involving protected wildlife, plants, and habitats. Currently managing a national practice, she has more than 25 years of consulting experience with an emphasis on the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and how compliance with the ESA influences other regulatory programs. Her wealth of experience pertaining to endangered species issues includes research, permitting, consultations, status reviews, and conservation planning. Her experience includes negotiating compliance solutions for critically imperiled species facing potential determinations of jeopardy or adverse modification of designated critical habitats. She has led efforts to delist species no longer requiring the protections of the ESA when supported by sound science, and has been involved in voluntary conservation planning to help preclude the need to list species. Amanda frequently presents at regional and national conferences on matters related to the ESA, including new listings, regulatory and policy changes, and trends in compliance strategies.
Natural Resources Director
Jenn Clayton
Jenn Clayton is an environmental specialist with a focus in natural resources, planning and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) in SWCA Environmental Consultants’ Durango, Colorado office. Her expertise is in natural resources with extensive experience conducting biological surveys including terrestrial and aquatic threatened and endangered species and associated critical habitat, forest inventory, and wildfire risk assessments. She has 5 years’ experience working with private, federal, state, tribal and local clients. Ms. Clayton has extensive practices in relocating and monitoring threatened and endangered Species of Colorado, New Mexico and Nevada, including the razorback sucker (Xyrauchen texanus), Brack’s hardwall cactus (Sclerocaactus cloveriae var. brackii), inventory and tagging desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii), as well as bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) and golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos), burrowing owl (Athene cunicularia) surveys, and Migratory Bird Treaty Act surveys. Ms. Clayton also received training from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife in 2015 to monitor desert tortoise.
Written By
Amanda Glen
Senior Natural Resources Technical Director
Jenn Clayton
Natural Resources Director
Posted
July 14, 2022
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What Happened?
In early July, a federal district court rolled back a set of rules that govern interagency consultations under the Endangered Species Act. The rollback resets the consultation regulations to conditions that existed before a series of reforms became final in 2019, despite a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announcement that the agency is in the process of revising the rules.
Is My Project Affected?
The rule rollback may warrant revisions to draft or ongoing biological assessments or biological opinions supporting the consultation process to ensure they conform to current regulatory standards and terminology. The change should not affect the documentation for completed consultations.
SWCA Has Solutions
SWCA is in the process of identifying the types of projects that are most affected by the rule change. We understand that project timelines are critical to success, and we are implementing strategies to minimize the number of revisions that may be necessary to help ensure a durable consultation process.
Contact Us
Reach out to your Project Manager or to one of SWCA’s Endangered Species Act regulatory specialists for more information, insight, and strategies to keep your consultation on track.
Kely Wabnitz | Central & Eastern Region
