The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is seeking data and input on the eastern diamondback rattlesnake to determine whether the species is warranted for listing as threatened or endangered. As part of the Species Status Assessment Committee for the snake, FLA is requesting data from our members. Layering private land data with the existing public…
Collaborative conservation was the cornerstone of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s finding earlier this month that listing the gopher tortoise population as a threatened or endangered species under the Endangered Species Act was not warranted throughout its entire range. The populations in the eastern segment, which includes Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and most of…
In response to President Biden’s Executive Order 14072: Strengthening the Nation’s Forests, Communities, and Local Economies, the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management on July 15, 2022, released a Request for Information to inform their approach to defining and conserving old growth and mature forests. While landowners can appreciate the cultural significance…
By Bob Williams Most forest landowners understand the critical role logging plays in the long-term ownership and conservation of their forest resources, both from an ecologicaland economic perspective. The Britannica definition of logging is “the process of harvesting trees, sawing them into appropriate lengths and transporting them to a sawmill.” Of course, there is some…
UPDATE: On July 3, 2023, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service released the finalized rule on experimental populations. The final rule revises the regulations concerning experimental populations of endangered and threatened species under the Endangered Species Act by allowing for the introduction of populations into habitats outside of their historical range. The Service did little…
In 2021, the Biden administration proposed a hefty goal of conserving 30% of America’s land and water by 2030 (called the “30 by 30” initiative, and later the America the Beautiful Initiative). With over half of forestland in the U.S. being privately owned, landowners worried what this goal might mean for their working forests. Earlier…
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (the Service) is proposing to list the alligator snapping turtle as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act with a Section 4(d) rule to tailor “take” prohibitions. This proposal is one of many recently proposed species listings that provide exceptions in the 4(d) rule for forest management activities…
After years of muddied waters, the Trump Administration’s Navigable Waters Protection Rule, offered clarity and definition of what a “navigable water” is to the issue of Waters of the United States (WOTUS) and the Clean Water Act (CWA), brought relief to forest landowners, farmers, small businesses and others. However, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and…
In an effort to reverse many Trump-era decisions regarding the Endangered Species Act (ESA), President Biden on his first day in office issued an executive order directing the USFWS to revise, rescind, or reinstate five major ESA regulations issued by the Trump administration. As a result of the Executive Order, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife…
In conjunction with President Biden’s first 100 days in office, FLA hosted a “First 100 Days” webinar series to keep our members informed on the executive, congressional, and regulatory actions that impact private forest ownership and management. Each monthly installment in the series served to update our members on the topics they care about most:…