Trump Rule Modifies Endangered Species Act's Definition of 'Harm'
The revised definition removes automatic habitat protections, a change critics say will aid development while leaving direct injury bans in place.
- On Friday, the Trump administration announced new Endangered Species Act rules redefining the term "harm" to exclude habitat modifications that could negatively affect protected species' survival.
- Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said the change restores original congressional intent, arguing the old rules created a "regulatory trap" for landowners and businesses.
- The departments also rescinded the blanket 4 rule, ending automatic protections for newly listed "threatened" species while limiting critical habitat designations based on non-biological factors.
- Sierra Club Wildlife Campaign Manager Ben Greuel warned the decisions dismantle longstanding protections, while nature photographer Derrick Jackson called the rules a "mortal blow" to conservation.
- These regulations follow the Supreme Court's 2024 Loper Bright decision, which held that courts must interpret statutes independently, and align with a 6-3 ruling expanding presidential authority.
17 Articles
17 Articles
Endangered Species Act’s ‘harm’ rule: What the change means for wildlife
On its way to becoming law in 1973, the Endangered Species Act passed the U.S. Senate without a single no vote. The rare bipartisan consensus – that species facing extinction deserved federal protection, habitat and all – held until earlier this month, when federal regulators altered the act’s definition of ‘harm’ to omit habitat destruction. The law has faced pressure to bend to development and industry interests over the years, including a leg…
Trump Administration Weakens Endangered Species Protections by Rolling Back Habitat Rules
The federal government has quietly redefined a single word – and in doing so has stripped legal protection from the forests, wetlands and deserts that endangered wildlife depend on to survive. The Interior and Commerce departments finalised a rule on Friday, 10 July 2026, narrowing the definition of 'harm' under the Endangered Species Act. Destroying an animal's habitat no longer counts as harming it. The change was published in the Federal Regi…
Trump rule modifies Endangered Species Act's definition of 'harm'
The Trump administration has finalized a rule eliminating what it calls an outdated interpretation of the word “harm” under the Endangered Species Act, a change that has alarmed conservation groups.
Trump administration redefines 'harm,' weakening habitat protections for US endangered species
A single word in federal law is suddenly doing much less work for endangered wildlife: "harm." The Trump administration has narrowed the definition of "harm" under the Endangered Species Act, a shift that could make it easier for business interests to damage or destroy the habitats many rare species need to survive, according to Vox. What happened? For many years, federal enforcement of the Endangered Species Act has included habitat destruction…
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