I want to thank Dr. McIsaac, the Regional Fishery Management Councils – in particular, the Pacific Council - and NOAA for hosting this conference. Pulling together a conference involving this many people who have an interest in fisheries management cannot be an easy task.
I would like to welcome all of you here to Washington, D.C. I know this is a commitment of time and energy, but I… Read more »
Yesterday, the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, Oceans and Insular Affairs held an oversight hearing examining the spending priorities outlined in the President’s FY2014 budget requests for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), the Office of Insular Affairs (OIA), and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife… Read more »
House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (WA-04) released the following statement after President Obama released the final implementation plan for the National Ocean Policy and mandatory ocean zoning initiative.
“This final implementation plan raises more questions than answers and provides even less information on what the Obama Administration will impose under the… Read more »
"The Interior Department's Fish and Wildlife Service has resurrected a Clinton-era tactic known as 'sue and settle.' With this strategy, outside green groups friendly to the Administration sue the government, demanding a particular regulatory action. The agency happily forswears court and sits down with the plaintiffs to reach a settlement."
Fishing for Wildlife Lawsuits
March 10,… Read more »
House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (WA-04) today sent a letter to Department of the Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Director Dan Ashe raising concerns of scientific integrity and the imposition of arbitrary deadlines surrounding the decision to potentially list the sage-grouse under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The letter requests… Read more »
At the beginning of this Administration, President Obama placed significant emphasis on the importance of scientific integrity in his Administration's policies and practices. In the President's March 9, 2009 Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies, he stated that "[t]he public must be able to trust the science and scientific process informing public policy… Read more »
House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (WA-04) today released the following statement after receiving a partial response from U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Dan Ashe to his February 7th request for an extended public comment period for Lesser Prairie Chicken designation under the Endangered Species Act and to approve state and local plans to protect the Lesser… Read more »
House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (WA-04), joined House Agriculture Committee Chairman Frank Lucas (OK-03), Rep. Randy Neubebauer (TX-19), and six other members of Congress in sending a letter to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services (FWS) Director Dan Ashe calling on him to promptly approve state and local plans to protect the Lesser Prairie Chicken and requesting… Read more »
We are writing to request at least a 60-day extension of the comment period and at least a 90-day extension of the final listing deadline for the proposed rule to list the Lesser Prairie-Chicken (LPC) as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. We also request that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), in coordination with the Western Association of Fish and… Read more »
House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (WA-04) today issued the following statement regarding U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service’s proposal to list the wolverine as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. The wolverine was one of hundreds of species included in a 2011 settlement agreement between the Department of the Interior and litigious environmental… Read more »
