Sponsors (7)
The bill gives state wildlife data a formal role in federal ESA decisions—boosting local input and predictability for industry—but increases the risk of inconsistent, delayed, or weakened federal protections if state data are uneven or used to oppose listings.
State governments: State wildlife data will be formally considered in federal Endangered Species Act (ESA) listing/delisting decisions, giving local science a clear role in federal outcomes.
Rural communities and species: Local and regional recovery assessments could be reflected more quickly in federal decisions, potentially speeding delisting where state data show recovery.
Developers, utilities and construction workers: Greater use of state monitoring can reduce uncertainty about species status, producing more predictable permitting and project outcomes.
Rural communities and species: States that oppose listings could use their data to delay or block federal protections, risking slower recoveries and worse conservation outcomes.
Federal agencies and the public: Requiring acceptance/integration of disparate state datasets risks relying on uneven or variable-quality surveys, which can reduce consistency and scientific rigor in ESA decisions.
Communities across states: Greater deference to state data may produce inconsistent levels of species protection between states, creating unequal conservation outcomes and fairness concerns.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Requires the Secretary of the Interior to accept and integrate State-collected data when making Endangered Species Act listing and delisting decisions.
Requires the Secretary of the Interior to accept and integrate State-collected data when deciding whether to list or delist species as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act. The change adds a requirement that State data be used as part of the Secretary’s evaluation for both listing and delisting decisions. The bill is short and narrowly focused: it creates a statutory obligation to incorporate state-collected information into federal species-status determinations, but does not itself provide funding, change substantive listing standards, or specify how data quality is to be assessed.
Official title: To amend the Endangered Species Act of 1973 with respect to the listing of threatened and endangered species, and for other purposes.
Introduced June 8, 2026 by Lauren Boebert · Last progress June 8, 2026