The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) proposed revisions
to its Mitigation Policy on March 8, 2016. This policy was last
updated in 1981. The Policy guides FWS on appropriate
mitigation for adverse impacts of proposed actions on fish,
wildlife, plants, and their habitats. FWS initiated the
revisions to the Policy to reflect changes in conservation
challenges and practices since 1981, including accelerating loss of
habitats, effects of climate change, and advances in conservation
science. The proposed revisions aim to apply a
landscape-scale approach to achieve a net gain in conservation
outcomes, or at a minimum, no net loss of resources and their
values, services, and functions resulting from proposed
actions. The net gain goal is consistent with a November 2015
Presidential Memorandum on Mitigating Impacts on Natural Resources
from Development and Encouraging Private Investment, which requires
that all federal mitigation policies clearly set forth a
