Bentz Looks To Restore Trump Era Rule Defining Habitat for Endangered Species

On Tuesday, eastern Oregon representative Cliff Bentz introduced legislation he said will curtail the use of habitat designations under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) for areas not inhabited by an endangered species. Bentz said his legislation is aimed at stopping the Biden Administration's announced plan to begin rolling back several critical Trump-era reforms of the ESA.

Between 2019 and 2020, the Trump administration introduced five Endangered Species Act regulations.

Bentz said his bill, would codify the Trump Administration's definition of habitat, giving it the force and effect of law.

"In the Biden Administration’s latest effort to reverse every accomplishment of the Trump Administration, the U.S. Department of Interior has rescinded the December of 2020 science-based definition of habitat," Bentz said in a statement this week. "This change will have far-reaching and potentially disastrous implications for rural communities, federal forests, and wildlife. Sadly, President Biden has made it clear that his administration’s policies are focused on fulfilling the agenda of far-left environmental radicals instead of conserving our natural resources and working with rural communities where many Americans have lived and protected the land for generations. My bill will help to begin restoring balance to species management policies that lock up federal lands from human activity – including those activities which will help clean up, conserve, and restore natural habitats."

Click Here to read Bentz' Legislation, HR 5708.

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