BILLINGS, Mont. — The Trump administration moved on Wednesday to roll back protections for endangered species and their habitats, reinstating a series of changes to the Endangered Species Act regulations previously blocked under President Joe Biden.
The proposals include the removal of the Fish and Wildlife Service’s automatic protections for new listings of threatened plants and animals. Instead, specific protection rules must now be crafted for each species, a process that could take years.
Environmental activists have raised alarms about the potential impact of these changes on species like the monarch butterfly, Florida manatee, California spotted owl, and North American wolverine. Stephanie Kurose from the Center for Biological Diversity dubbed the plan “absurd and heartbreaking,” suggesting it would delay protection until species are nearly extinct.
The revised proposals come amid increasing concerns about global extinction rates exacerbated by habitat loss. Past suggestions during Trump's second term included a modified definition of harm under the Endangered Species Act that could have allowed logging operations to proceed unimpeded.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum defended the proposals as a return to the original intent of the Endangered Species Act while also considering the livelihoods of Americans reliant on land and resource use.
Critics, particularly from the oil, gas, and agriculture sectors, claim that the existing protections hinder economic growth and the resolution of conflicts between ecological conservation and industry interests.
Another proposed change involves evaluating potential economic effects when identifying critical habitats, a step Burgum believes will ensure that conservation remains scientifically grounded and practical.
The Interior Department was previously sued over the automatic protection rules, with critics suggesting these protections hindered collaboration between states and landowners in recovery initiatives.
PERC Vice President Jonathan Wood called the proposed reforms a necessary correction to previous overreaches, emphasizing the need for recovery to remain central to the Endangered Species Act.
