# What This Bill Does

This bill is about removing the Apache trout from the federal endangered species list. Right now, the Apache trout is officially protected as an endangered species, which means there are strict rules about fishing for it and managing its habitat. The bill requires the Secretary of the Interior to finalize a decision that would take away that protected status within 90 days of the bill becoming law.

The Apache trout is a fish found in Arizona streams, and it was listed as endangered decades ago because its population had dropped dramatically. However, conservation efforts over the years have helped the species recover. There's already a proposed rule from the Fish and Wildlife Service (published in August 2023) that would remove the trout from the endangered list, and this bill is essentially saying: make that decision official and do it quickly.

What this means in practical terms is that if the trout is removed from the endangered species list, fishing regulations for Apache trout would likely become less restrictive. People in Arizona who fish would potentially have more freedom to catch Apache trout, and the government wouldn't need to spend as many resources protecting its habitat. However, this also means the species would lose the legal protections that have helped it recover, so there's a question about whether the population is stable enough to survive without that protection.

The bill was introduced by Arizona representatives, which makes sense since the Apache trout is native to Arizona streams. The main practical impact would be on Arizona fishing regulations and how the state manages this particular fish species going forward.

To require the Secretary of the Interior to finalize a proposed rule to remove the Apache trout from the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife.