Trump rolls back protections for threatened species and habitat for endangered species
The rollback replaces automatic safeguards with species-specific plans and lets officials weigh economic costs, a shift critics say could slow wildlife protection.
- On Friday, the Interior Department canceled the rule providing automatic "blanket protections" for threatened species, requiring newly listed plants and wildlife to receive individualized protection plans instead.
- These protections were first adopted in 1975 and 1977, but the administration's move mirrors changes attempted during President Donald Trump's first term that were later reversed under former Democratic President Joe Biden.
- Interior Secretary Doug Burgum finalized a separate change requiring officials to analyze economic impacts when designating critical habitat; last week, officials narrowed the definition of "harm" to allow development on habitat if animals are not immediately injured.
- About 30 species, including monarch butterflies and alligator snapping turtles, currently await listing, prompting critics to warn that new requirements grant corporations undue influence over recovery efforts.
- Federal records show no new species listings during Trump's second term, compared to about 60 under Biden; the administration also reduced critical habitat for Canada lynx and transferred grizzly bear management authority to states.
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77 Articles
In the name of economic imperatives and national security, threatened species will be less protected in the United StatesThe Trump administration has finalized two new changes on Friday further reducing the scope of the Threatened Species Act, ESA, which protects, for example, the Alaska grizzly bear or the white-headed eagle, a symbol of the country.The first of these changes repeals the rule that applies by default the provisions of the Endang…
Associated Press News
US cancels automatic protections for imperiled animals as critics warn of extinctions
The U.S. Interior Department has canceled a rule meant to protect plants and animals that are determined to be threatened with extinction.
Environmental advocates fear that changes will facilitate the destruction of previously protected natural habitats
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