Jobs, Security to Matter in Designating ‘Critical Habitats’ (1)

The federal government may not deem an area with imperiled plants and animals to be a “critical habitat” if doing so would cause economic harm or national security problems, under proposed rules announced Friday.

The announcement by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service sparked the ire of environmental groups that fear the proposal would further harm species on the brink of extinction, especially as climate change affects their habitats.

The proposed rules would affect how the Fish and Wildlife Service decides what land could be excluded from a critical habitat designation. The plan appeared in a Federal Register pre-publication notice ...