Sponsors
The bill increases regulatory certainty and administrative clarity by speeding and standardizing delisting decisions, but does so at the risk of reducing agency discretion, legal oversight, and long‑term protections for species—potentially leading to premature delistings and reduced public participation.
Landowners, local governments, and businesses face clearer and faster delisting when species meet recovery goals or when original listings are shown to be erroneous, reducing regulatory uncertainty and potential economic burdens.
State agencies and stakeholders get more transparent and consistent listings/delisting decisions because the statute requires use of explicit criteria and consideration of recovery-plan metrics.
The Department of the Interior faces a reduced paperwork and administrative burden because some delistings can be announced via a simple Federal Register notice rather than longer procedures.
Species, conservation groups, and the public risk long-term harm because mandatory delisting tied to recovery-plan goals or rigid timelines could allow premature or inadequately protective delistings, undermining biodiversity and recovery.
Nonprofits, states, and members of the public lose a judicial check because making certain positive findings nonreviewable removes or limits legal recourse against potentially improper delistings.
Agency ability to weigh complex, case-by-case ecological evidence is constrained because statutory prescription of review criteria can limit discretionary, expert judgment in listings and delistings.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Requires mandatory delisting when recovery goals or evidence show recovery, narrows removal notices, limits judicial review for fraud-based removals, and defines five-year review factors.
Introduced January 3, 2025 by Andrew S. Biggs · Last progress January 3, 2025
Changes to how species are removed from the endangered species list and how five-year status reviews are done. The bill requires the Interior Secretary to start delisting a species when recovery-plan goals are met or when evidence shows the species has recovered, allows immediate removal on receipt or production of substantial recovery information with only a brief Federal Register removal notice, and creates a 90-day requirement for deciding whether a listing was based on inaccurate or fraudulent information (with mandatory removal and a bar on judicial review if the Secretary finds fraud). It also spells out specific factors the Secretary must use in five-year status reviews, prioritizing recovery-plan criteria and then the statutory listing factors if objective recovery criteria are absent.