Justice Department Files Motions Defending a Rule Rescinding the Regulatory Definitions of “Harm” As It Relates to the Endangered Species Act

The Justice Department’s Energy and Natural Resources Division (ENRD) yesterday filed motions for summary judgment in four cases defending challenges to a rule rescinding the regulatory definition of “harm” in U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) regulations implementing the Endangered Species Act (ESA). These cases, in the Northern District of California and the District of South Carolina, are the first in a series of similar challenges across the country to reach this stage of litigation.