Endangered Species Committee

Document Headings Document headings vary by document type but may contain the following: the agency or agencies that issued and signed a document the number of the CFR title and the number of each part the document amends, proposes to amend, or is directly related to the agency docket number / agency internal file number the RIN which identifies each regulatory action listed in the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions See the Document Drafting Handbook for more details. Department of the Interior Department of the Army Environmental Protection Agency Department of Agriculture Department of Commerce AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, Interior; Department of the Army; Environmental Protection Agency; Department of Agriculture; Council of Economic Advisors, Executive Office of the President; Department of Commerce. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: The Endangered Species Committee held a public meeting on Tuesday, March 31, 2026, in Washington, DC, to address the Secretary of War's finding that it is necessary for reasons of national security to exempt Gulf of America Oil and Gas Activities (defined below) from the requirements of the Endangered Species Act. By unanimous vote, the Committee exempted under section 7(h) of the Endangered Species Act the Gulf of America Oil and Gas Activities, which include the avoidance or minimization measures described in the National Marine Fisheries Service's (NMFS) 2025 biological opinion and in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's (FWS) 2018 and 2025 consultation decisions. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A notice in the March 16, 2026 Federal Register , 91 FR 12672 , advised that the Secretary of the Interior, who is also the Chairman of the Endangered Species Committee, had called a meeting of the Endangered Species Committee for Tuesday, March 31, 2026, in Washington, DC, with the meeting open to the public through livestreaming. Decision On March 13, 2026, the Chairman of the Endangered Species Committee received from …