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Endangered Species and Wildlife Protection

Overview

Wildlife protection laws have become a weapon of choice for opponents of even the most carefully considered private, commercial, and public development projects. In this litigious atmosphere, landowners, developers, trade associations, and state and local governments need legal counsel that can help them achieve sensible, sustainable growth.

From Washington, D.C., to western venues, the lawyers  in Crowell & Moring's wildlife practice are widely respected for their knowledge, experience, and high-quality client service. Beginning in the 1980s, we were among the first legal teams to recognize the potential for misuse of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) against public and private projects and business initiatives. We have advocated on behalf of regulated-industry interests in the U.S. Supreme Court's last three ESA cases: National Association of Home Builders v. Defenders of Wildlife, 549 U.S. 1105 (2007); Bennett v. Spear, 520 U.S. 154 (1997); and Babbitt v. Sweet Home, 515 U.S. 687 (1995).

Our clients include electric utilities, oil and gas companies (both onshore and offshore projects), mining companies, large landowners, state and local governments, and members of the agricultural, forest products, and pesticide sectors. Additionally, the U.S. Department of Energy has consulted the firm on wildlife and all other environmental matters associated with offshore wind energy production.

As counselors, we advise clients on compliance with the full range of wildlife and natural resource laws and regulations that affect existing and proposed economic activities. In addition to ESA matters, we advise major corporations on issues involving the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act (BGEPA), the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA), and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). We frequently prepare comments for clients on rulemaking and policy issues under these statutes. We advise clients on all aspects of the ESA, including preparing comments opposing the ESA section 4 listing of particular species and opposing broad critical habitat designations; advising on ESA section 7 consultations with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service on federal permits and other actions; and addressing allegations of ESA section 9 "take" of wildlife.

When disputes arise with ESA citizen suit plaintiffs or government agencies, our highly skilled litigators draw on their years of experience before administrative agencies, federal and state trial courts, and courts of appeal. We most frequently represent defendants or intervenor-defendant trade associations in ESA citizen suits. Those suits run the gamut, from allegations that a federal agency has not fulfilled its consultation and jeopardy-avoidance duties under ESA section 7, to charges that a private or public entity is unlawfully "taking" members of a listed species. Finally, we counsel and, where necessary, defend mining, oil and gas, renewable energy, and other companies concerning newly heightened federal enforcement efforts, particularly under BGEPA and MBTA.

Insights

Webinar | 01.12.23

What Will the New Year Bring for Government Contractors?

As 2023 rolls in, what changes can government contractors expect? What will be the focus of the US Government? How should contractors prepare?...

Representative Matters

  • Representing the Edison Electric Institute, the American Petroleum Institute, and other parties defending the ESA section 4(d) special rule for the polar bear, which declines to use the ESA to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. Crowell & Moring attorneys also assisted EEI in preparing comments supporting that special rule. And our attorneys have written on why certain effects of greenhouse gas emissions cannot be addressed under the ESA.
  • Representing CropLife America and the American Farm Bureau Federation in contentious litigation on whether EPA's registration of pesticides has conformed with § 7(a)(2) of the ESA.
  • Preparing amicus briefs on the winning side for two national trade associations (the American Farm Bureau Federation and CropLife America) in National Ass'n of Home Builders v. Defenders of Wildlife, 551 U.S. 644 (2007). In that hard-fought 5-4 decision, the majority held that ESA § 7(a)(2) did not apply to EPA's decision under § 402(b) of the Clean Water Act in transferring NPDES permitting authority to the State of Arizona.
  • Litigating allegations of ESA "take" brought against wind energy developers, land developers, timber companies, and state regulators.
  • Litigating the leading case on ESA "take" for the timber industry. In Sweet Home,the Supreme Court sustained the "harm" rule, but under narrowing interpretations which make it more difficult to prove that an enjoinable "take" of listed wildlife would occur.
  • Counseling major oil companies on compliance with the ESA, MMPA, and MBTA. Preparing rulemaking comments for numerous trade associations and companies on issues under the ESA and BGEPA.   
  • Representing a state government in consolidated multidistrict litigation concerning ESA issues in management of water reservoirs by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
  • Successfully representing oil interests and timber interests in limiting the scope of the 1918 MBTA.  See Newton County Wildlife Association v. U. S. Forest Service, 113 F.3d 110 (8th Cir. 1997); and United States v. Brigham Oil & Gas L.P., 840 F. Supp. 2d 1202 (D.N.D. 2012).
  • Counseling a major utility on avian protection policies.
  • Submitting an amicus brief on the winning side in the Supreme Court case (Bennett v. Spear) finding that companies could bring ESA citizen suits and clarifying that an ESA biological opinion is subject to judicial review.

Insights

Webinar | 01.12.23

What Will the New Year Bring for Government Contractors?

As 2023 rolls in, what changes can government contractors expect? What will be the focus of the US Government? How should contractors prepare?...

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Insights

Webinar | 01.12.23

What Will the New Year Bring for Government Contractors?

As 2023 rolls in, what changes can government contractors expect? What will be the focus of the US Government? How should contractors prepare?...