WASHINGTON, D.C. — Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Sunnyside, introduced legislation this week to modify a hurdle to approving federal actions that could impact animals protected by the Endangered Species Act.
H.R. 5588, the Weigh Habitats Offsetting Locational Effects Act of 2020, or WHOLE Act, would increase the types of mitigating efforts that federal agencies can consider when determining if federal action would jeopardize protected species.
The Endangered Species Act requires that federal agencies ensure the actions they “authorize, fund or carry out do not jeopardize” protected species or their designated critical habitat.
For instance, if an agency wanted to build a highway that might impact a protected species or its critical habitat, or even delist a species altogether, that agency would have to determine the potential impacts of that action on affected species.
Agencies consult with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to make this determination, and if a species is impacted, they work together to find ways to mitigate or prevent harm. This can include considering ongoing conservation efforts that are benefiting the impacted species, potentially mitigating the harm of proposed actions.
Under current law, only conservation efforts taking place within the designated critical habitats of endangered or threatened species are considered during environmental review or impact studies of federal actions.
If a species had a declared critical habitat of Grant County, for instance, species recovery and conservation efforts supporting that species in Adams County could not be considered during federal review.
The WHOLE Act would amend the Endangered Species Act so that all conservation measures, including those outside of critical habitat, would be considered when proposed federal action could impact an ESA-listed species.
