Trump admin makes major cut to endangered species protections
The new interpretation says accidental deaths are not illegal, a shift critics say could weaken protections for species killed during logging and fishing.
- On Sept. 14, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Brian Nesvik signed an internal memo interpreting the Endangered Species Act to prohibit only intentional killing or wounding of protected animals.
- The administration's directive relies on a 1995 Supreme Court dissent by Justice Antonin Scalia, narrowing the legal definition of 'take' to exclude incidental harm from economic activity.
- Harvard University law professor Andrew Mergen, who previously supervised ESA litigation at the U.S. Department of Justice, called the memo "an assault on the act like we've never seen before."
- Democratic U.S. Senators Adam Schiff and Sheldon Whitehouse introduced a Congressional Review Act resolution last month to repeal the policy.
- The directive follows the administration's July move rescinding the regulatory definition of 'harm,' which prompted States to sue and former wildlife officials from both parties to urge reversal.
167 Articles
167 Articles
A timeline of Trump administration moves to weaken endangered species protections
Sept 21 (Reuters) – US President Donald Trump has scaled back regulations meant to protect endangered wildlife as part of a broader push to reduce permitting obstacles for energy, mining, agriculture and other development. The 50-year-old Endangered Species Act is credited with helping to save the bald eagle, the US national bird, along with the California condor and numerous other animals and plants from extinction. Here is a timeline of acti…
New Jersey Monitor
Trump administration says developers, loggers can kill endangered species
The Trump administration’s top wildlife official issued a directive last week that expands a recent rollback of endangered species protections much further than the feds had told the public. Individuals and industries may kill endangered animals in the course of logging projects, developments and other activities, it said — so long as the activity’s purpose […]
Trump Memo Reduces Endangered Species Act Protections, The Hill Reports
President Donald Trump issued a memo directing federal agencies to reduce regulatory protections under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), according to The Hill. The memo applies to the Department of the Interior (DOI) and the Department of Commerce (DOC), and was reported from Washington. It follows prior administration efforts to revise ESA rules. According to The Hill, the memo instructs agencies to streamline consultation processes and limit c…
According to a new interpretation of the law in the United States, it is no longer a crime to kill endangered species during, for example, logging.
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