Photo by Mitch Meyers on Unsplash
In July, Senator John Barrasso (R-WY) drafted a possible bill to amend the Endangered Species Act. Some of the proposed amendments allow more non-scientific influence on endangered species protections. At the same time, the Departments of Interior and Commerce have proposed new regulations that would take effects on commerce and industry into account when determining whether to list a species as endangered or threatened... which sure doesn’t sound like it should be a relevant factor. None of these are done deals, so it’s time to act.