FLA Protecting Your Property Rights With Comments on USFWS Experimental Populations Proposed Rule
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FLA Protecting Your Property Rights With Comments on USFWS Experimental Populations Proposed Rule

ByMichelle Cain

UPDATE: On July 3, 2023, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service released the finalized rule on experimental populations. The final rule revises the regulations concerning experimental populations of endangered and threatened species under the Endangered Species Act by allowing for the introduction of populations into habitats outside of their historical range. The Service did little…

Agencies Propose New Tool to Measure Conservation in America
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Agencies Propose New Tool to Measure Conservation in America

ByMichelle Cain

In 2021, the Biden administration proposed a hefty goal of conserving 30% of America’s land and water by 2030 (called the “30 by 30” initiative, and later the America the Beautiful Initiative). With over half of forestland in the U.S. being privately owned, landowners worried what this goal might mean for their working forests. Earlier…

Best Management Practices Recognized in Alligator Snapping Turtle Proposed Listing
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Best Management Practices Recognized in Alligator Snapping Turtle Proposed Listing

ByAmy Palmer

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (the Service) is proposing to list the alligator snapping turtle as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act with a Section 4(d) rule to tailor “take” prohibitions. This proposal is one of many recently proposed species listings that provide exceptions in the 4(d) rule for forest management activities…

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Muddied Waters, as EPA Moves to Revert to Restrictive Pre-2015 WOTUS Definition

ByAmy Palmer

After years of muddied waters, the Trump Administration’s Navigable Waters Protection Rule, offered clarity and definition of what a “navigable water” is to the issue of Waters of the United States (WOTUS) and the Clean Water Act (CWA), brought relief to forest landowners, farmers, small businesses and others. However, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and…

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Biden Administration Seeks to Uproot Progress Made on Collaborative Conservation Under ESA

ByAmy Palmer

In an effort to reverse many Trump-era decisions regarding the Endangered Species Act (ESA), President Biden on his first day in office issued an executive order directing the USFWS to revise, rescind, or reinstate five major ESA regulations issued by the Trump administration.  As a result of the Executive Order, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife…

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FLA Keeps Landowners Informed with “First 100 Days” Webinar Series

ByKatie Moss

In conjunction with President Biden’s first 100 days in office, FLA hosted a “First 100 Days” webinar series to keep our members informed on the executive, congressional, and regulatory actions that impact private forest ownership and management. Each monthly installment in the series served to update our members on the topics they care about most:…

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FLA Statement on America the Beautiful Initiative

ByKatie Moss

The Forest Landowners Association applauds the collaborative approach of the Biden administration’s recently released America the Beautiful Initiative, which outlines the president’s goal to conserve 30 percent of the nation’s land and water by 2030. “Through stewardship and sound management, private working forests significantly contribute to conservation of natural resources at scale throughout the United…

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FLA Launches Legal Challenge of Critical Habitat Designation for Black Pinesnake

ByAmy Palmer

On February 26, 2021, the Forest Landowners Association (FLA), filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Alabama challenging the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s designation of critical habitat for the black pinesnake (Pituophis melanoleucus). The lawsuit alleges that the Service designated areas of critical habitat based on insufficient scientific…