The Department of the Interior and the Department of Commerce this month announced a finalized rule rescinding the regulatory definition of “harm” under the Endangered Species Act. The Departments stated their action “returns the interpretation of the ESA back to its actual text and original intent, which will end years of federal overreach.” The Final Rule will be effective September 14, 2026. Here are my initial thoughts on the impacts of this change: The regulatory definit

Our colleague Gen. (Ret) Tom Sands is a larger-than-life figure in the Army Corps of Engineers, having been Commander of the New Orleans District and Commander of the North Atlantic and Lower Mississippi Valley Divisions. So it’s wonderful to see that the New Orleans District recently honored him by naming its Executive Conference Room after him. Tom was New Orleans District Commander from 1978 to 1981 and he was Mississippi Valley Division Commander from 1985 to 1989. Als

This Independence Day, Dawson & Associates celebrates the enduring ideals that have defined our nation for nearly 250 years: freedom, service, innovation and the belief that together we can build a stronger future. When the Declaration of Independence was announced in 1776, many in Europe viewed the Colonist revolt as the work of a select few who led a largely deluded populace in an effort doomed to fail. The American Revolution was merely the work of “John Hancock’s money

In April, Court of Federal Claims Senior Judge Loren A. Smith ruled in favor of Houston landowners downstream of the Addicks and Barker Dams who had sued claiming that the release of floodwaters by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers during Hurricane Harvey resulted in a taking of their private property under the 5th Amendment. Judge Smith dismissed all of the government's arguments in defense of its actions including the argument that the releases were driven by the emergency g