Sponsors (8)
The bill centralizes migratory and endangered species management at Interior and clarifies key definitions to streamline coordination and legal interpretation, but that centralization risks transitional delays, scientific and enforcement disruptions, reopened legal disputes, and new compliance costs for governments and regulated parties.
State and local resource managers (and federal land managers) will have a single Interior-led permitting and recovery process for anadromous/catadromous fish, which could simplify coordination and speed habitat restoration and project approvals.
Existing permits, contracts, proceedings, lawsuits, and appeals remain in force and statutory procedural safeguards (notice, hearings, record review) are preserved, providing continuity and legal certainty for ongoing projects and litigants during the transfer.
The bill adds clear, aligned statutory definitions for 'anadromous' and 'catadromous' (and clarifies covered functions/offices), reducing ambiguity about which species and units the law covers and improving consistency across statutes and agencies.
Shifting authority and reorganizing staff/processes risks regulatory uncertainty and transitional delays that could slow permitting, restoration projects, and other infrastructure or land-management actions.
Moving marine fish jurisdiction to Interior and consolidating authority may disrupt scientific continuity and change enforcement priorities or interpretations, potentially weakening conservation outcomes for marine and migratory species.
The discretionary reconsideration process could reopen settled NMFS listings and determinations, creating legal and economic uncertainty for businesses, water users, and conservation projects affected by those listings.
Based on analysis of 4 sections of legislative text.
Shifts Endangered Species Act authority for anadromous and catadromous species from Commerce/NMFS to the Department of the Interior and allows limited reconsideration of recent NMFS determinations.
Official title: To amend the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to vest in the Secretary of the Interior functions under that Act with respect to species of fish that spawn in fresh or estuarine waters and migrate to ocean waters and species of fish that spawn in ocean waters and migrate to fresh or estuarine waters, and for other purposes.
Introduced March 6, 2025 by Ken Calvert · Last progress March 6, 2025
Moves federal responsibility for endangered anadromous and catadromous species from the Department of Commerce (NOAA/NMFS) to the Department of the Interior, amending the Endangered Species Act definitions so the term “Secretary” refers to the Interior Secretary for those species. It preserves existing permits, orders, grants, contracts, and litigation while allowing the Interior Secretary discretionary authority to reconsider NMFS final determinations issued in the three years before the transfer if requested within one year of transfer.