No Short Cuts Allowed: The FWS Must Comply With NEPA Before Extending Programmatic Take Permits To 30 Years

Earlier this month, the Judge Lucy Koh set aside the Fish & Wildlife Service's decision to extend its programmatic permit for bald and golden eagle takes from five to 30 years.  The extension was sought by the wind industry for the obvious reason that the uncertainty attached to a five-year permit makes financing a 20- or 30-year project very difficult.  I agree with the concern and support the extension, but the FWS's attempt to short-circuit NEPA requirements in order to get the extension done quickly was doomed from the start.

Indeed, this case mostly stands for the proposition that bureaucratic overreach is almost always counterproductive.  The extension was not just opposed by environmental groups and native American tribes.  It was also opposed by the National Park Service – and FWS's own staff, including the writer of the rule!  Eliza Savage, described by the Court as having "'responsibility for overseeing the drafting and revision' of the Proposed 30-Year