Sue and Settle Litigation Undermines True Conservation

Are American conservationists being served by the Biden administration? By all indications, they aren’t.From suspending the prescribed burn program to undermining domestic energy production, this White House masquerades their preservationist environmental agenda as true conservation. Recently, the Department of Interior nixed their litigation website highlighting earnings environmental groups receive from settlement agreements in a practice known as “sue and settle.” Biden Admin Gives License to ‘Sue and Settle’ On June 17, 2022, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland issued a Secretarial Order (Secretary’s Order 3408) revoking an Trump-era order (Secretary’s Order 3368) spotlighting consent decrees and legal settlements claiming it was redundant and inefficient. “The previous Order added unnecessary obstacles to the Department’s ability to enter into rational and fair settlements, imposed requirements and timelines inconsistent with those set by courts, and added redundant reporting obligations,” an Interior Department statement read. “The previous Order provided no tangible benefits to the public while interfering with the Department’s ability to make decisions about litigation that are in the best interests of the federal government and taxpayers.”This announcement interestingly coincides with the Center for Biological Diversity vs USFWS lawsuit to undo the 2020 opening of 2.2 million national wildlife refuges to new fishing and hunting opportunities because lead ammunition and tackle use is allowed. USFWS entered into settlement talks with the radical environmental organization. As a result of apparent talks, the DOI just proposed a rule, 2022–2023 Station-Specific Hunting and Sport Fishing Regulations, to phas …