# Plain Language Summary: HR 840

This bill would cancel a federal rule that protects six species of freshwater mussels found in Texas. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service created this rule to prevent these mussels from going extinct by designating them as endangered or threatened species and protecting specific areas where they live, called critical habitat.

The six mussels affected are the Guadalupe Fatmucket, Texas Fatmucket, Guadalupe Orb, Texas Pimpleback, Balcones Spike, and False Spike. These are small creatures that live in rivers and streams in central Texas. The protection rule restricts certain activities in areas where these mussels live to keep them from disappearing forever. If this bill passes, those protections would disappear, and people would be able to use those waterways and land without the same environmental restrictions.

Who this affects depends on where you live and what you do. If you own property or operate a business near these Texas waterways, you'd have fewer regulations to follow. Environmental groups and people concerned about species extinction would lose protections they believe are necessary. The mussels themselves would lose their legal protection, making them more vulnerable to pollution, dam construction, water diversion, and other human activities that could harm them.

Essentially, this bill is about whether the federal government should protect these specific mussels from extinction or whether property owners and businesses should have more freedom to use the land and water without those environmental restrictions.

To provide that the final rule of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service titled "Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Endangered Species Status With Critical Habitat for Guadalupe Fatmucket, Texas Fatmucket, Guadalupe Orb, Texas Pimpleback, Balcones Spike, and False Spike, and Threatened Species Status With Section 4(d) Rule and Critical Habitat for Texas Fawnsfoot" shall have no force or effect.