Environment (Wildlife)

in committee · United States · House Jun 9, 2025

HR 3845: To amend the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to expand the exemption process under section 7 of that Act with respect to national security and significant adverse national or regional economic impacts.

HR 3845 amends the Endangered Species Act to expand when federal agencies or project applicants can seek exemptions from species protection requirements. It allows exemptions if a project might harm endangered species but would either impair national security or cause significant adverse national/regional economic impacts. The bill adds new criteria requiring consultation with the National Security Council and National Economic Council before finalizing such exemptions. This change directly affects federal agencies, state governors, and project applicants seeking to bypass ESA protections for certain projects.

Topics ✗ EnvironmentOpposes EnvironmentExpands exemptions from Endangered Species Act protections for projects harming species, weakening environmental safeguards to prioritize national security/economic impacts over conservation.92% confidence

Sub-Topics Natural Disasters Wildlife

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in committee · United States · House Jan 3, 2025

HR 106: LIST Act of 2025

HR 106, the LIST Act of 2025, amends the Endangered Species Act to streamline the delisting of species. It requires the Secretary of the Interior to remove species from protection lists when recovery goals are met or when substantial evidence shows the species has recovered, and to address cases where listing was based on inaccurate, fraudulent, or misleading information. The bill mandates faster action (within 90 days) for species wrongly listed and prohibits judicial review of positive findings on such errors. It also updates 5-year review processes to explicitly consider recovery criteria or listing errors. This directly affects species currently listed under the Endangered Species Act and the administrative procedures used by the Department of the Interior.

Topics ✗ EnvironmentOpposes EnvironmentBill streamlines delisting under Endangered Species Act, prioritizing speed over thorough review, weakening protections by reducing barriers to removing species from protected status.85% confidence

Sub-Topics Wildlife

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in committee · United States · House Apr 1, 2025

HR 2573: LIZARD Act of 2025

HR 2573, the LIZARD Act of 2025, removes the dunes sagebrush lizard (Sceloporus arenicolus) from the Endangered Species Act's threatened and endangered species lists. The bill amends the Endangered Species Act to specifically prohibit the Secretary of the Interior from listing the dunes sagebrush lizard as threatened or endangered in the future. This directly affects the species' legal protections under federal law, ending its current status as a protected species. The key mechanism is a new provision in the Endangered Species Act that explicitly excludes this lizard from future listing determinations.

Topics ✗ EnvironmentOpposes EnvironmentBill removes dunes sagebrush lizard from ESA protections and prohibits future listing, directly weakening federal environmental safeguards under the Endangered Species Act.95% confidence

Sub-Topics Wildlife

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in committee · United States · Senate Jan 21, 2025

S 171: A bill to remove the lesser prairie-chicken from the lists of threatened species and endangered species published pursuant to the Endangered Species Act of 1973, to amend that Act to exclude the lesser prairie-chicken from the authority of that Act, and for other purposes.

This bill removes the lesser prairie-chicken from the federal endangered and threatened species lists under the Endangered Species Act. It specifically amends the Act to permanently prevent the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service from re-listing the bird as endangered or threatened in the future. The legislation directly affects the regulatory protections for this bird species, ending federal conservation requirements like habitat restrictions or project reviews under the ESA. The change applies to all populations of the lesser prairie-chicken across its range.

Topics ✗ EnvironmentOpposes EnvironmentRemoves lesser prairie-chicken from endangered species list, ending ESA conservation requirements and preventing future protections, weakening environmental safeguards.95% confidence

Sub-Topics Conservation Wildlife

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in committee · United States · House May 21, 2026

HR 184: Action Versus No Action Act

HR 184, the "Action Versus No Action Act," requires the Secretary of Agriculture or Interior to limit environmental reviews for specific forest management activities to only two alternatives: the proposed activity or "no action." It applies when projects occur on lands suitable for timber production and meet conditions like being part of a collaborative process, developed via a resource advisory committee, or covered by a community wildfire protection plan. The bill mandates that "no action" alternatives must explicitly analyze impacts on forest health, wildfire risk, habitat, water supply, and economic factors. This directly affects federal land managers conducting environmental assessments under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for these designated projects.

Topics ✗ EnvironmentOpposes EnvironmentLimits environmental reviews to two alternatives, reducing regulatory scrutiny for timber projects and weakening environmental protections.85% confidence

Sub-Topics Forestry Public Lands Wildlife

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in committee · United States · Senate Jun 9, 2025

S 1999: USDA CROP Act of 2025

This bill requires the EPA Administrator to coordinate with the USDA Secretary on pesticide regulations. It mandates that EPA publish economic analyses of costs to growers and other affected entities when implementing pesticide risk mitigation measures. The law also requires EPA to share and consider USDA's agronomic data and information about alternative pesticides during registration reviews. These coordination rules apply to pesticide decisions affecting growers, state agencies, and pesticide companies, with specific protocols for Endangered Species Act consultations. The bill establishes formal processes for data sharing and joint decision-making between EPA and USDA.

Topics ✗ EnvironmentOpposes EnvironmentRequires EPA to consider economic costs to growers and USDA data during pesticide rulemaking, potentially weakening environmental protections by prioritizing industry interests over stricter regulations.85% confidence

Sub-Topics Wildlife Tags Agriculture

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in committee · United States · Senate Jun 17, 2025

S 2089: Sturgeon Conservation and Sustainability Act

This bill amends the Endangered Species Act to create an exception for sturgeon farmed in captivity. It exempts legally held captive sturgeon and their offspring from certain Endangered Species Act requirements (like section 7(a)(2) protections) until they are intentionally released back into the wild. Farmers must maintain documentation proving their sturgeon qualify under this exception and submit records to the Secretary upon request. The bill directly affects sturgeon aquaculture operations by reducing regulatory burden for captive breeding programs.

Topics ✗ EnvironmentOpposes EnvironmentExempts captive sturgeon from ESA protections, weakening regulatory safeguards for endangered species conservation90% confidence

Sub-Topics Conservation Wildlife

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in committee · United States · Senate Jul 9, 2025

S 2226: Necessary Environmental Exemptions for Defense Act

This bill exempts the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and its contractors from key environmental review laws - including the National Environmental Policy Act, Endangered Species Act, Marine Mammal Protection Act, and Clean Water Act - for defense activities certified as countering threats from the Chinese Communist Party. It directly affects DoD readiness, training, infrastructure projects, and defense technology development when certified by the President or Secretary of Defense. The exemption eliminates mandatory environmental reviews or evaluations for these activities, prohibits substitute reviews by federal or state authorities, and retroactively cancels ongoing legal challenges related to such projects. The bill requires the DoD to review environmental best practices every five years but bars courts from reviewing or blocking certified defense activities.

Topics ✗ EnvironmentOpposes EnvironmentExempts DoD from NEPA, ESA, MMPA, and Clean Water Act, directly weakening environmental protections for defense activities.95% confidence

Sub-Topics Water Quality Wildlife

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in committee · United States · House Jan 3, 2025

HR 130: Trust the Science Act

HR 130, titled the "Trust the Science Act," directs the Secretary of the Interior to reissue a 2020 rule removing gray wolves from the federal endangered species list within 60 days of the bill's enactment. This action directly affects gray wolf populations and wildlife management policies across states where wolves are currently protected. The bill mandates that this reissuance cannot be challenged in court, preventing legal appeals against the decision. Note: The bill's title is misleading, as it does not address scientific policy but solely concerns reissuing a specific rule about wolf protections.

Topics ✗ EnvironmentOpposes EnvironmentBill removes gray wolves from endangered species list, weakening federal wildlife protection under Endangered Species Act, directly contradicting conservation goals.95% confidence

Sub-Topics Wildlife

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in committee · United States · Senate May 20, 2025

S 1823: Black Vulture Relief Act of 2025

The Black Vulture Relief Act of 2025 allows livestock producers and their employees to remove or kill black vultures that are harming or likely to harm livestock, but prohibits using poison for this purpose. It requires these individuals to submit an annual report to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service about vultures taken, using a simple form developed by the agency within 180 days of the bill’s enactment. The reporting form must be no more complicated than similar forms under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. This bill directly affects livestock operations facing vulture-related losses while maintaining federal bird protections outside these specific circumstances.

Topics ✗ EnvironmentOpposes EnvironmentBill permits killing protected black vultures for livestock protection, weakening species conservation despite poison prohibition; conflicts with environmental protection goals.85% confidence

Sub-Topics Wildlife

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