Members of the House Natural Resources Committee debated Wednesday whether to give local water contractors input into Endangered Species Act reviews, as shrinking water supplies across the West increasingly put agricultural and environmental needs at odds. The Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife and Fisheries reviewed H.R.8259, the “Federal Water Projects Consultation Improvement Act,” which would require federal agencies to involve local contractors during ESA biological assessments, which can dictate when and how much water flows. The bill, introduced by Rep. Cliff Bentz (R-Ore.), focuses on the Bureau of Reclamation which operates across 17 western states. That includes the Klamath Basin in Oregon [and California], where Reclamation is rewriting the endangered species rules that govern its dams and pumps.

Other Endangered Species Act news:

• Inside Climate News: Tribe and environmentalists to sue feds over Arizona mine’s impacts to threatened owls
• Center for Biological Diversity: News release: Second lawsuit launched to protect Arizona’s Upper Verde river, endangered species from illegal cattle grazing​