Washington Cattlemen and PLF Challenge ESA Overreach

PLF’s Harold Johnson interviews PLF attorney Jonathan Wood and Jack Field, executive vice president of the Washington Cattlemen’s Association about their petition to change an illegal regulation to the Endangered Species Act.

In a petition filed with the U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife, the WCA and PLF demand repeal of a regulation that applies the “take” ban in a blanket way to all species classified as “threatened,” contrary to congressional intent and the statute’s text. This regulation subjects ranchers and farmers in the Pacific Northwest — along with citizens from coast to coast — to the possibility of massive fines and even jail for land use activities that Congress has deemed legal.