The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently released two final policies that will address mitigation measures pertaining to development impacts on fish and animals.
Effective May 15, the revised Mitigation Policy and the Endangered Species Act Compensatory Mitigation Policy address mitigation with different approaches in order “to reduce human impact on the environment,” according to a May 12 FWS news release.
“The impacts of development on fish and wildlife resources are myriad and complex, and there is no one-size-fits-all solution,” FWS Director Martha Williams said in the release. “Effective mitigation is a powerful tool to reconcile necessary development while sustaining and recovering species and the habitats upon which they depend. Through well-designed and sited mitigation, we can reduce the human impact on the environment and provide a sustainable future for our wildlife and their habitats.
Compensatory mitigation refers to the restoration, creation, enhancement or preservation of habitat to offset unavoidable impacts that can sometimes occur through development, the release reported.
The final revised Mitigation Policy seeks to improve the design and placement of mitigation on the landscape, and by doing so, maintain the overall health of species and habitats at risk, according to the release. The policy will apply to all authorities under which the FWS can require or recommend mitigation, including administering the Endangered Species Act.
More information on the policies can be found online.
Williams was sworn in as the director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service March 8, 2022, according to a release. Previously, she was the director of the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks from 2017 to 2020. She was an assistant professor of law at the Blewett School of Law at the University of Montana in Missoula, Mont., where she co-directed the university’s Land Use and Natural Resources Clinic.
She was deputy solicitor for Parks and Wildlife 2011-13, providing counsel to the National Park Service and the Fish and Wildlife Service, the release reported.
