[MCN] Submit Public Comments on Proposal to Weaken Endangered Species Act

[John Meyer]

Hey Missoula,

I hope this finds you well. 

I want to spread the word that the outgoing federal administration recently proposed weakening the Endangered Species Act. The proposed rules prioritize timber sales over the protection of threatened species, putting many of them back on the road towards extinction. 

The proposed revisions <https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2021-01-12/pdf/2021-00366.pdf> would eliminate the only Endangered Species Act regulations that currently protect species like Canada lynx and others.  The sole reason Canada lynx were listed as a threatened species is because Forest Plans were not adequate to protect the species. Removing the requirement that the Forest Service continue to look at the adequacy of its Forest Plans would ignore the precise reason why lynx are threatened.  

At a more selfish level, the ESA ensures there is adequate habitat for non-endangered game species, like elk. As an avid hunter, conservationist, and member of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, I recognize that protecting threatened species and their habitat also protects my hunting opportunities. One of my fondest hunting memories is bugling in in a large bull elk in critical habitat for Canada lynx. Being full draw on a mature six pointer with your heart pounding in your head is a memorable experience. I was in the Bozeman Municipal Watershed project area where the Forest Service wanted to log. 

The federal court in Missoula stopped the timber sale because of these specific regulations. If the rules now being proposed had been in place at the time Judge Christensen decided the case, the area would have been logged, the elk wouldn’t have been there, and I wouldn’t have had that experience. 

Please submit comments on this important and urgent issue. Public comments <https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2021/01/12/2021-00366/endangered-and-threatened-wildlife-and-plants-regulations-for-interagency-cooperation> are due February 11, 2021. 

To learn more about this issue, a great place to start is Wednesday’s Bozeman Daily Chronicle article <https://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/news/environment/fish-and-wildlife-service-proposes-esa-rule-changes-meant-to-speed-timber-projects/article_f77a4615-d789-5591-a34e-9071dba0ea7d.html>. 

You can email Kyle Kearney (she/her/hers) at Kyle at cottonwoodlaw.org <mailto:Kyle at cottonwoodlaw.org>  if you need any assistance submitting comments or want to become more involved. 

Thank you, Missoula.

John Meyer





John Meyer
Executive Director & General Counsel 
Cottonwood Environmental Law Center
P.O. Box 412 Bozeman, MT 59771
John at Cottonwoodlaw.org
(406) 546-0149

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