Trump Administration Seeks ESA Regulatory Rollbacks, Risks Accelerating Extinction for America’s Most Vulnerable Wildlife

In a move that could accelerate the extinction crisis we face today, the Trump administration today proposed significant changes to the regulations implementing the Endangered Species Act, which, for more than 50 years, has served as the backstop to America’s most imperiled wildlife. The administration’s proposed revisions to Sections 4, 4(d) and 7 regulations would weaken some of the protections that have helped prevent the extinction of iconic species.

“America’s imperiled wildlife remains at an uncertain crossroads, with one road pointing toward extinction and the other toward recovery. The Trump administration’s proposals announced today seek to undermine critical portions of the Endangered Species Act and will make recovery for many of those species that much more difficult,” said Andrew Bowman, president and CEO at Defenders of Wildlife. “These devasting proposals disregard proven science and risk reversing decades of bipartisan progress to protect our shared national heritage and the wildlife that make America so special.”

“The ESA is one of the world’s most powerful laws for conservation and is responsible for keeping 99% of listed species from extinction,” said Jane Davenport, senior attorney at Defenders of Wildlife. “But the ESA is only as effective as the regulations that implement it. Rolling back these regulations risks reversing the ESA’s historic success and threatens the wellbeing of plant and animal species that pollinate our crops, generate medicine, keep our waterways clean and support local economies.”

These proposed rollbacks would make it easier for federal agencies to greenlight destructive projects, such as mining, drilling, logging and overdevelopment, without fully assessing their impact on threatened and endangered species or their habitats. The move would also allow economic interests to influence decisions about which species warrant protection and which critical habitat receives federal designation. In addition, automatic protections for some threatened species would be eliminated.

"Currently, 90% of listed species are threatened by habitat loss, making the conservation of their habitats critical to their survival and recovery,” said Davenport. “Imperiled plants and animals cannot survive and recover if their natural habitats are destroyed. By promoting drilling, mining, bulldozing, logging and development at the expense of habitat, this administration will push America’s beloved wildlife species further from recovery and closer to extinction.”

Among the most alarming changes is the proposed elimination of the Fish and Wildlife Service’s blanket 4(d) rule, which has for decades allowed the agency to extend comprehensive statutory protections to threatened species by default, ensuring they do not become endangered, but instead progress toward recovery and ultimately delisting.

“Without the blanket 4(d) rule in place to ensure protection from unauthorized take and trade, threatened species like the Florida manatee could easily lose the recovery gains they have made and decline further towards endangered status,” Davenport continued. “The administration is forsaking species recovery for short-term profits.”

The proposed changes to the section 7 regulations could make federal agency consultations with the expert wildlife agencies—which the ESA requires to ensure that agencies do not approve actions that are likely to jeopardize listed species or destroy their critical habitat—significantly less effective. By narrowing the scope of required consultations, the changes could speed up projects like development, logging and agriculture expansion that have the potential to irreparably damage fragile wildlife populations and push imperiled species closer to extinction.

“Today’s proposal would weaken vital interagency collaboration that is important for preservation of imperiled species, throwing the door open to mismanagement and inefficiency,” said Davenport. “Without rigorous consultations under Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act, projects could push species like the Northern spotted owl and Cook Inlet beluga whale closer to extinction.”

The public comment period on these changes will be open for 30 days. Defenders of Wildlife urges all Americans to take action and speak out against these dangerous proposals. The future of our nation’s wildlife and our own American values of wildlife conservation depend on it.

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