The Congressional Western Caucus, chaired by Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ), held a roundtable on 9/24 with several House members and officials from the Department of Interior to discuss a 19-bill draft legislative package they will be introducing to reform the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The caucus's legislative package aims to modify several parts of the ESA, as well as codify the Trump administration's new rules.
Among the members' proposed changes:
- Authorize the Interior Secretary to delist species based on "objective" science that a species is recovered.
- Increase the role of state, local and tribal governments in the petition and listing processes.
- Streamline the petition process to help reduce the delisting backlog.
- Implement more protections for private property owners.
The discussion also included many industry and other groups, including the National Endangered Species Act Reform Coalition (of which NAR is a member), NAHB, California Farm Bureau Federation and the Western Energy Alliance.