Trump moves to roll back protections for plants, animals under Endangered Species Act

AP: “The Trump administration moved Wednesday to weaken the popular Endangered Species Act in an attempt to restore changes made during the president’s first term that were later blocked by a federal judge. The proposed changes include the elimination of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s “blanket rule” that automatically protects animals and plants when they are classified as threatened. Government agencies instead would have to craft species-specific rules for protections, a potentially lengthy process. The administration’s announcement answers long-standing calls for revisions to the 1973 Endangered Species Act from Republicans in Congress and industries including oil and gas, mining and agriculture. Critics argue the law has been wielded too broadly, to the detriment of economic growth. But environmentalists warned the changes could cause yearslong delays in efforts to save species such as the monarch butterfly, the Florida manatee, the California spotted owl and the North American wolverine. “They’re trying to take us back to the first time they weakened the law,” said Rebecca Riley, managing director for the Natural Resources Defense Council. “We fought that, and the Biden administration reversed many of the worst changes they made, and they are moving to put them back in place.” Scientists and government agencies say extinctions have accelerated globally because of habitat loss and other pressures. Prior proposals during Trump’s second term would revise the definition of “harm” under the Endangered Species Act and potentially bypass species protections for logging projects in national forests and on public lands. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said in a statement that the administration was restoring the Endangered Species Act to its original intent while respecting “the livelihoods of Americans who depend on our land and resources.”

• Endangered and Threatened Species: Listing Endangered and Threatened Species and Designating Critical Habitat by the Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration scheduled for publication on 11/21/2025.
• Endangered and Threatened Species: Critical Habitat by the Fish and Wildlife Service scheduled for publication on 11/21/2025.
• Endangered and Threatened Species: Interagency Cooperation by the Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration scheduled for publication on 11/21/2025.
• Endangered and Threatened Species: Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants by the Fish and Wildlife Service scheduled for publication on 11/21/2025.
• See also Washington Post – “…Since the start of the year, the Forest Service has lost nearly 6,000 staffers through firings, resignations and retirements encouraged by the Trump administration, according to internal figures obtained by The Washington Post. By summer, some of the agency’s regions were missing three-quarters of their trail and recreation staff — and some forests and districts had none at all…”