BISMARCK – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND), member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee (EPW), joined his Senate colleagues in a letter to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services (FWS) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) highlighting their concerns with proposals to diminish crucial reforms to the Endangered Species Act (ESA).
The senators sent this letter after the Biden administration announced it would make changes to the ESA, which would create more red tape and overly burdensome regulations. In particular, the senators expressed concern with three proposals issued by the FWS, two of which were jointly issued with the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) which is an agency within the NOAA.
"We urge your agencies to fully consider the impact these proposed rules will have on communities across the nation,” wrote the senators.“Instead of returning the ESA to an overly burdensome and ineffective statute, the Biden Administration must prioritize efforts that empower private landowners and other stakeholders to achieve the goal of removing species from the ESA list. In the meantime, we urge you to extend the comment period on these proposed rules until meaningful input can be provided from all affected parties.”
Joining Senator Cramer in the letter are U.S. Senators Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), John Barrasso (R-WY), Pete Ricketts (R-NE), Steve Daines (R-MT), James Risch (R-ID), James Lankford (R-OK), Mike Lee (R-UT), Roger Marshall (R-KS), Roger Wicker (R-MS), Deb Fischer (R-NE), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Ted Cruz (R-TX), John Hoeven (R-ND), and Mike Crapo (R-ID).
Click here to view the letter.