Bush Administration Leaves Its Mark on the Endangered Species Act With Significant Amendments to the Consultation Regulations

On December 16, 2008, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service (Services) published a final rule (Section 7 Rule) in the Federal Register that makes significant changes to certain provisions of the consultation requirements under Section 7 of the Federal Endangered Species Act (ESA). In one of the final actions of the Bush Administration’s environmental agenda, these actions set the stage for the Obama Administration to wrestle with the scope of the ESA, and in particular, the interplay of climate change and its impact on endangered species.