The Trump administration is seeking to roll back protections afforded to endangered species in an effort to make it easier to build in their habitats.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service proposed a rule change on Thursday to redefine “harm” narrowly in the Endangered Species Act. Under the current interpretation of the law, “harm” includes habitat modification that may lead to loss of habitat or harm to a species. The agency is seeking to limit the definition of “harm” to “take,” which is defined as “to harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect” the animal itself.
The proposed rule change will be open to a 30-day public comment period and has already been criticized by environmentalists, who say it will put endangered species at greater risk.
Noah Greenwald, director of the Center for Biological Diversity, said changing the definition of harm would “cut the heart out of the Endangered Species Act and be a death sentence for plants and animals on the brink of extinction.”
“Unless habitat destruction is prohibited, spotted owls, sea turtles, salmon and so many more animals and plants won’t have a chance,” Greenwald wrote. “Humanity’s survival depends on biodiversity and no one voted to fast-track extinction. This is a five-alarm fire.”
On his first day in office, President Donald Trump rolled back 80 climate-related orders made under President Joe Biden. The President has previously been at odds with environmental protections for endangered species, such as the Delta smelt, which he blamed for hindering California’s water supply at the height of the Los Angeles wildfires.
“Environmental is the biggest tool for stopping growth,” Trump said during an interview with Joe Rogan last October.
Republicans and developers have previously aired their criticism of environmental protections for endangered species. In 1990, the northern spotted owl was listed as a threatened species, leading the federal government to prohibit building or development on millions of acres in the Pacific Northwest. Logging companies sued, but the high court ruled against them, upholding a broad interpretation of harm.
The Trump administration will have to overcome this precedent.
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The Endangered Species Act was enacted in 1973 to protect “various species of fish, wildlife, and plants in the United States that had been rendered extinct as a consequence of economic growth and development untampered by adequate concern and conservation.” Since its inception, it has been credited with saving 99% of listed species from extinction, including American alligators, whooping cranes, and bald eagles.
The Washington Examiner reached out to the Interior Department for comment.