Utah’s Attorney General, Sean D. Reyes, is supporting local governments by joining several states in opposing the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s proposed rule change to expand the federal government’s authority to designate land as endangered species habitat without cooperation from states. The current law, found in the Endangered Species Act, requires the Fish and Wildlife Service to “cooperate to the maximum extent practicable with the States” in designating endangered species habitats, placing important constraints on the Service’s ability to define new habitats. In his letter, Reyes argues that the proposed rules circumvent these essential constraints. He also highlighted disappointment in the attempt “to resurrect aspects of rules many of the States have already challenged as unlawful without even conducting a federalism impact statement as required.”
