FIR Act

Summary

Prevents the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management from being required to reinitiate consultation under the Endangered Species Act for program-level land management or land use plans when either a new species or critical habitat is listed or when new information shows plan effects not previously considered. The change narrows when agencies must reopen program-level plan consultations, which increases regulatory certainty for existing plans but may reduce opportunities to address newly identified harms to listed species or habitat.

• Precludes mandatory reinitiation of ESA section 7 consultation for Forest Service and BLM program-level plans when a new species is listed or critical habitat is designated.
• Also precludes reinitiation when new information shows plan effects on listed species or habitat that were not previously considered.
• Applies to program-level land management and land use plans, limiting when agencies must reopen plan-level consultations.
• Increases regulatory certainty for existing plans and may reduce administrative burden on federal land managers.
• Could reduce opportunities to revisit plan-level decisions in light of new species listings or scientific information.
• Does not change project-level consultation duties under the ESA; those may still trigger consultation or action.
• May shift disputes to courts to interpret the scope of "new information" and whether the bar on reinitiation applies in specific cases.
• Does not provide new funding or modify other ESA protections outside the two specified triggers.
• Represents a statutory narrowing of consultation duties rather than a procedural or guidance change.