June 29, 2023

Comment Today on BLM Public Lands Conservation Rule 

On April 3, 2023, the Bureau of Land Management published a proposed rule in the Federal Register entitled, "Strengthening the Stewardship of America's Public Lands." The BLM proposed rule includes significant changes to how public lands are managed and has the potential to adversely impact current permitted uses like grazing, mining and energy development. If finalized, the rule would place conservation on equal footing with other uses potentially compromising how the current leas programs operate and would establish a “Conservation Lease.” The rule would also prioritize the creation of more Areas of Critical Environmental Concern. Comments are due to BLM by July 5, 2023. Please comment on the rule today!

Participation Opportunity: Bi-State

Sage Grouse Meetings

The process of updating the 2012 Bi-State Sage-Grouse Action Plan is now underway. The updated Action Plan is intended to guide the next 10 years of sage-grouse conservation in the Bi-State area. A series of regional in-person meetings for each population management unit (PMU) as well as a local area work group meeting have been scheduled throughout July and August in various locations in California and Nevada. Information presented at each of the regional in-person meetings will be specific to the region covered by each PMU. The Local Area Working Group Meeting agenda will focus on the Bi-State region as a whole. RSVPs for meeting attendance is appreciated but not required.

Post-Sackett Decision WOTUS Update

On June 26, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency posted a statement on the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision in the case of Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency. In light of the decision, the U.S. EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers stated that they are interpreting waters of the United States consistent with the Sackett decision and are in process of developing a rule to amend the previously finalized “Revised Definition of Waters of the United States” rule. A new final rule is expected to be issued by September 1, 2023. The Army Corps has also temporarily paused issuing formal wetland determinations until the current regulatory patchwork is more solidified. The Corps is not expected to restart those determinations until after the new rule is finalized.

India to Drop Tariffs on Several Ag Products

Late last week, the US Trade Representative’s office announced that India would be dropping several retaliatory tariffs they introduced back in 2019. Those measures originally came in response to US tariff increases on some steel and aluminum products the previous year. The following commodities are expected to be included: almonds, walnuts, chickpeas, lentils, fresh apples, boric acid, and diagnostic regents. The news should benefit many producers on the west coast, as the original tariffs led to a 10-20% increase on most of those products. Both countries also announced several World Trade Organization cases between the two countries would be dropped as well. The tariffs should officially end sometime in September.

Services Propose Three Additional Regulatory Changes to ESA Implementation

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service have released three proposed regulations to amend implementation of the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The proposed changes will impact the ability to consider economic impacts of listings, change how other federal agencies consult with the Services, and grant threatened species the same protections as endangered species, with exceptions, for USFWS-listed species. Previously, the Trump Administration the Services had finalized three new endangered species regulations in 2019. One allowed agencies to consider the economic impacts of listing species and designating critical habitat and addressed the definition of “foreseeable future.” A second changed when and how other federal agencies are required to consult the Services on ESA issues. The third, issued by USFWS, reserved full protection with exceptions for only endangered species, not species listed as threatened. The current proposed rules amend those regulations. CAFB will provide comments on the proposals by the August 21, 2023 deadline. For more information on the proposals, view the USFWS press release here.

Ag Workforce Bill Reintroduced in the House

Earlier this week, it was confirmed that Reps. Dan Newhouse and Zoe Lofgren reintroduced the Farm Workforce Modernization Act (FWMA). The legislation has not been made available online at this time, but Rep. Newhouse’s office confirmed that it would be identical to previous version in the last Congress. That legislation had passed with bipartisan support in 2021 in the House but unfortunately stagnated in the Senate and failed to pass during a last-minute effort at the end of 2022. FWMA, a bill CAFB has long supported and advocated for, would make significant changes to our agricultural workforce—both through existing workers and the H-2A process. The political environment remains far more challenging in this session given the makeup of the House and Senate, but CAFB will continue to push for ways to enact meaningful ag labor reform.