2016 Mitigation Policies That Went Beyond the Law Withdrawn

In line with an AGC recommendation, on July 27 the Fish and Wildlife Service withdrew two policies from 2016 regarding mitigation and Endangered Species Act compensatory mitigation — indicating that the Service lacks the authority to require the "net conservation gain" goal that underpinned the policies.  AGC submitted comments to the Service earlier this year on these policies and urged the Fish and Wildlife Serve to remove the net gain goal, stating that it goes above and beyond the law.
The goal blurred the lines between requirement and recommendation, and construction projects already address species and habitat concerns at great cost.
In related news, the Bureau of Land Management also recently changed its policy and will now cease requiring compensatory mitigation from public land users, except where specifically required by law.
For more information, contact Melinda Tomaino at [email protected] or (703) 837-5415.


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