Russell County authorizes KNRC to support litigation on ESA "harm" definition

Chair Duke Strobel presented a request from the Kansas Natural Resource Coalition (KNRC) asking member counties to cast two ballots on whether KNRC should participate in federal litigation related to recent Endangered Species Act regulatory changes. Strobel outlined that Ballot No.1 "concerns litigation defending the repeal of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s regulatory definition of 'harm' under the Endangered Species Act," and explained KNRC would argue a broad definition of "harm" can convert the Act into a broader federal land-use control affecting ordinary landowner practices.