[2] Beginning in April 1978, the Senate Subcommittee on Resources Protection began debating and developing a bill that would create a committee with power to exempt federal actions from Section 7 requirements.

[2] Meanwhile, in Wheatland, Wyoming, a consortium of energy utilities were attempting to build the Grayrocks Dam on the Laramie River to supply a coal-fired power plant.

[3] Upset that water diversion would threaten the critically endangered whooping crane, on October 2, 1978, the Nebraska Attorney General’s office obtained a federal injunction barring the dam.

[4] Grayrocks, however, enjoyed strong support in Congress, and by October 14 Teno Roncalio (D-WY) convinced the House to pass a bill exempting the dam from all federal regulation.

[2] On December 4, Nebraska reached a settlement under which the power utilities would get to build Grayrocks dam by agreeing to purchase some habitat for the whooping crane.

[6] The most important change that was brought about by the 1978 amendment was the creation of the Endangered Species Committee, known as the "God Squad" because of the substantial impact of its decisions on the natural world.

[citation needed] In 1991, a federal judge ordered the halting of logging on Pacific Northwest national lands because of the threat to the northern spotted owl.

[9] When the Clinton administration came into office, they withdrew the exemption request and convened a conference resulting in appointment of the Forest Ecosystem Management Assessment Team (FEMAT).

FEMAT and the Clinton administration agreed to protect 10 million acres (40,000 km2) of old growth forest for the owl, while limiting logging to 1 billion board feet (2,400,000 m3) per year.