The Hardwood Federation produces a “D.C. Cheat Sheet” newsletter to keep the industry up-to-date on the latest news from Washington D.C. Check out the July 23rd edition below and sign up to receive your copy.
Eoin Lehane Chosen as Hardwood Federation Board Vice-Chair: The Hardwood Board of Directors unanimously elected Eoin Lehane, CEO of NWH, to vice-chair of the Hardwood Federation. Lehane will be join the executive committee immediately and will move to the chair role pending a vote of the Hardwood Federation membership during the winter 2027 meeting.
Renewable Fuels Standard Reintroduced: RFS legislation, the Wildfire Reduction Market Expansion Act was introduced in the House and Senate. House lead sponsors are Representatives Cliff Bentz (R-OR-02) and Bennie Thompson (D-MS-02) with Bruce Westerman (R-AR-04), James Gallagher (R-CA-01), Mike Ezell (R-MS-04), Ami Bera (D-CA-06), Derrick Van Orden (R-WI-03), Max Miller (R-OH-07), Kim Schrier (D-WA-08), and Bob Latta (R-OH-05) as additional original cosponsors. Senate lead sponsors are Senators Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS) with Alex Padilla (D-CA), John Kennedy (R-LA), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Susan Collins (R-ME), and Angus King (I-ME) as additional original cosponsors. The Hardwood Federation will continue to support passage of this important effort to provide additional markets for hardwood residuals.
Fish and Wildlife Rescinds “Harm” Definition: On Tuesday, the U.S. Departments of the Interior and Commerce announced that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) published a final rule rescinding the agencies’ longstanding regulatory definitions of “harm” under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The rule finalizes their April 2025 proposal and is scheduled to take effect on September 14, 2026. Once effective, the rule will remove the definitions of “harm” from the code without replacing them with new regulatory text. The new rule could ease restrictions on harvesting in areas with endangered bat populations, a long-time goal for the Hardwood Federation.
Key Takeaways
- The Services will no longer interpret habitat modification or degradation, standing alone, as a prohibited “take” of listed wildlife.
- Activities that affect habitat but do not otherwise kill, injure, capture, or directly affect listed animals may no longer require incidental-take authorization under ESA Section 7 or Section 10.
- The rule does not alter ESA Section 7 consultation, jeopardy, or critical-habitat obligations for federal actions, but habitat modification will no longer independently support an incidental take statement. Applicable state protections will remain in place.
- The Services will not reopen existing permits and incidental take statements solely because of the change. Pending authorizations may require a new assessment under the Services’ narrower interpretation.
The final rule is likely to face legal challenges. In Babbitt v. Sweet Home Chapter of Communities for a Great Oregon, the Supreme Court upheld FWS’s prior definition of “harm” as a reasonable interpretation of the ESA. That definition included habitat modification that actually kills or injures wildlife. But the Court expressly declined to decide whether the ESA compelled that interpretation. The Hardwood Federation will keep you apprised of developments.
Source: Hardwood Federation