Missoula, MT — Two conservation groups are launching a suit against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) over the “blanket rule” that disregards science and hinders habitat restoration efforts under the Endangered Species Act. The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation (RMEF) and Property and Environment Research Center (PERC) want the agency to adopt the approach used by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), which develops tailored regulations to recover threatened species guided by science and the specific needs of each species.
The Endangered Species Act directs agencies to list species and take steps to recover them. To do so, the agency is supposed to design science-based regulations tailored to the needs of each species. Citing administrative convenience, the FWS established the “blanket 4(d) rule” to bypass this process, ignoring science and species-specific considerations. As a result, the agency’s one-size-fits-all approach has yielded poor species recovery rates. By comparison, the National Marine Fisheries Service’s tailored strategy has recovered species at twice the rate of FWS’ blanket approach.
“While the blanket rule is certainly easier for bureaucrats to administer, it doesn’t work for species like the gray wolf, greater sage grouse, and arctic grayling,” said Jonathan Wood, PERC’s Vice President of Law and Policy. “Given the challenges of recovering America’s imperiled wildlife, the Endangered Species Act needs to be as effective as possible by applying science, harnessing incentives, and adapting to real world outcomes.”
The blanket rule: limiting habitat restoration on private lands
Two-thirds of endangered species depend on private lands for habitat, making it critical to engage landowners in effective habitat protection and restoration efforts. Yet the blanket rule does the opposite. It maintains the tightest restrictions on landowners and states even after a species’ conservation status improves from endangered to threatened.
Rather than motivating stakeholders to invest in a species’ recovery by lifting the most stringent restrictions when its status improves, the blanket rule makes states and landowners indifferent to whether a species is endangered or threatened, improving, or declining. This penalizes and discourages states and landowners from maintaining or restoring wildlife habitat, including in partnership with conservation groups like RMEF and PERC.
“As conservationists who want to see more habitat restoration and greater species recovery, there is no doubt a targeted, science-based approach produces better outcomes for wildlife,” said Blake Henning, RMEF’s Chief Conservation Officer. “We’ve worked with states and landowners to conserve or enhance more than 8.9 million acres of habitat for elk and other wildlife, and we’ve seen how flexible regulations that address specific challenges are more effective than a blanket approach.”
Species recovery under the Endangered Species Act has proven elusive. While 99 percent of species listed have avoided extinction since the Act became law, less than three percent have achieved the Act’s ultimate goal of species recovery.
About RMEF
Founded in 1984 and fueled by hunters, RMEF has conserved more than 8.9 million acres for elk and other wildlife. RMEF also works to open and improve public access, fund and advocate for science-based resource management, and ensure the future of America’s hunting heritage. Discover why “Hunting Is Conservation”® at rmef.org or 800-CALL ELK.
About PERC
The Property and Environment Research Center (PERC) is the national leader in market solutions for conservation, with over 40 years of research and a network of respected scholars and practitioners. Through research, law and policy, and innovative applied conservation programs, PERC explores how aligning incentives for environmental stewardship produces sustainable outcomes for land, water, and wildlife. Founded in 1980, PERC is nonprofit, nonpartisan, and proudly based in Bozeman, Montana.
