"Endangered Species: Interior To Revise ESA Listing Rules"

"The Interior Department is working on possible Endangered Species Act changes, in a move that alarms environmentalists but could gratify Westerners and others unhappy with the current law.

While the details and timing remain under wraps, Interior officials made public their general intentions as part of the Trump administration's Unified Agenda issued Thursday. The changes potentially could reach deep into the 1973 law and how it works.

'The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will revise the regulations ... for listing endangered and threatened species and for designation of critical habitat,' the department stated.

The department also revealed that it will 'clarify and improve' the so-called Section 7 consultations with other federal agencies when endangered species are involved. This will include revisions to 'exceptions regarding the conservation of species,' the department said."

Michael Doyle reports for Greenwire December 18, 2017.