Montana Natural Resource Coalition of Counties Letter - Recission of Final US Fish and Wildlife Service Experimental Populations (Historical Range) Rule

Sep 16, 2026

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Letter from the Montana Natural Resource Coalition of Counties (MtNRC) to the U.S. Department of the Interior requesting rescission of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Final Designation of Experimental Populations (Historical Range) Rule adopted at 88 Fed. Reg. 42642. The coalition argues the rule imposes an unnecessary regulatory burden, that DOI dismissed MtNRC’s technical, economic, and procedural inputs, and that EO 14148 negates the regulatory rationale supporting the historical range approach. The correspondence outlines background and chronology and cites related executive orders and rulemaking record actions.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLetters

FormatPDF

Pages4

Reading Time2 min

AccessFree to download

Background

Chronology and Rationale for Recission

Montana Natural Resource Coalition of Counties, Inc. P.O. Box 468 • Lewistown, MT 59457 @[co.fergus.mt.us](co.fergus.mt.us) Board of Directors Ross Butcher, President & Treasurer Fergus County Miles Hutton, Secretary Blaine County Shane Gorder, Vice President Richland County William Wallace Sweet Grass County John Ostlund Yellowstone County July 21, 2025 Mr. Gregory Zerzan Acting Solicitor Office of the Solicitor U.S. Department of the Interior 1849 C Street, NW-Rm 6362 Washington, DC 20240 Mr. Jacob Tyner Deputy Solicitor Energy and Mineral Resources U.S. Department of the Interior 1849 C Street, NW-Rm 6362 Washington, DC 20240 Re: Recission of Final US Fish and Wildlife Service Designation of Experimental Populations (Historical Range) Rule adopted at 88 Fed. Reg. 42642. Via: [regulations.gov/commenton/DOI-2025-0005-0001](regulations.gov/commenton/DOI-2025-0005-0001) and hand delivery. Dear Deputy Solicitor Tyner: Through this letter, the Montana Natural Resource Coalition of Counties (MtNRC) is responding to DOI’s Regulatory Initiative by requesting recission of the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) Final Designation of Experimental Populations Rule adopted at 88 Fed. Reg. 42642. About MtNRC MtNRC is a coalition of twenty-two (22) Montana County governments owned, funded, and governed exclusively by the sitting county commissioners of Montana member counties. The coalition was organized to engage federal and state governments on administrative actions on behalf of our individual county members. Current MtNRC member counties are Beaverhead, Blaine, Carter, Fallon, Fergus, Garfield, Liberty, Madison, McCone, Musselshell, Petroleum, Phillips, Pondera, Powder River, Prairie, Richland, Roosevelt, Rosebud, Sweet Grass, Valley, Wibaux, and Yellowstone Counties. MtNRC has been actively engaged with FWS throughout the Historical Range Rulemaking process, including a county-to-agency coordination meeting, filing of substantive comments in the record, and direct interactions with FWS agency staff.1 1 Survey of The Proposed Fish and Wildlife Service Section 10(j) Historical Range Rule. Stillwater Technical Solutions. August 10, 2022. No Artificial Intelligence was used to produce this document. The recission is necessary because FWS dismissed all of MtNRC’s substantive technical, economic, and procedural input from the coordination meeting and throughout the entire rulemaking process, rendering this Rule eligible for consideration under the Criteria of Executive Order 14219, sections 2(iv), 2(v), and 2(vii) . Background The Historical Range Rule lowers the regulatory burden on the FWS Director and local offices by reducing the formal administrative actions required prior to the introduction of threatened and endangered species outside of their historical range. Local FWS offices already possess the regulatory authority to issue experimental permits under Section 10 of the Endangered Species Act, rendering the Historical Range Rule an additional and unnecessary burden. Agency staff simply wish to reduce the administrative and the notification requirements prior to the launching critters into public lands and waters where they could propagate on, in, and across county and private lands. MtNRC notes that those protective administrative requirements are in place for a reason. With the issuance of Trump Executive Order 14148, the regulatory impetus for the Historical Range Rule is negated. Because the higher documentation and regulatory standards that existed before were lowered by the final Historical Range Rule, unscrutinized introductions of threatened and endangered species by biological activistson lands, in streams, or near private properties across the nation is a foreseeable possibility. Recission of the Historical Range Rule will restore the statutory and administrative requirements to previous levels. Chronology and Rationale for Recission- 1. On January 20, 2025 Pr

FAQs

What does MtNRC request in this letter?

MtNRC requests that DOI rescind the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Final Designation of Experimental Populations (Historical Range) Rule adopted at 88 Fed. Reg. 42642.

Why does MtNRC say the rescission is necessary?

MtNRC argues the rule adds an unnecessary regulatory burden because local FWS offices already can issue experimental permits under Section 10 of the Endangered Species Act, and it contends MtNRC’s substantive inputs were dismissed during rulemaking.

How does EO 14148 factor into MtNRC’s rationale?

MtNRC states that EO 14148 nullified prior executive authorities used to justify the Final Historical Range Rule, and therefore the regulatory impetus for the rule no longer applies.

Sep 16, 2026

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