Frames of Influence: U.S. Environmental Rulemaking Case Studies

Abstract

Abstract The purpose of this article was to question whether interest group actions during the pre‐proposal stage of U.S. federal rulemaking influences the language proposed in natural resource agency rules. The influence of interest groups during this stage was examined across three case studies: (1) the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) critical habitat designation for Nebraska's Salt Creek tiger beetle, (2) the USFWS critical habitat designation for the Utah/Arizona Shivwits and Holmgren milk vetch, and (3) the USFWS delisting of the Northern Rocky Mountain gray wolf population from the endangered species list. To analyze these three cases, a frame analysis approach is used and offers evidence to support the proposition that the instructive, expertise, and fiscal feasibility frames that stakeholders used during the pre‐proposal stage can shape the language of a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. These cases suggest the rich potential for careful study of the earliest stages in the regulatory and administrative rulemaking process in the United States and beyond.

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