The Trump administration issued a proposed rule today that would rescind nearly all habitat protections for endangered species nationwide. These protections for the places where endangered plants and animals live are crucial to ensuring they don’t go extinct.
“There’s just no way to protect animals and plants from extinction without protecting the places they live, yet the Trump administration is opening the flood gates to immeasurable habitat destruction,” said Noah Greenwald, codirector of endangered species at the Center for Biological Diversity. “This administration’s greed and contempt for imperiled wildlife know no bounds, but most Americans know that we destroy the natural world at our own peril. Nobody voted to drive spotted owls, Florida panthers or grizzly bears to extinction.”
The Endangered Species Act prohibits “take” of endangered species by any person, including individuals, government entities and corporations. Take has been defined to include actions that “harm” endangered species through “significant habitat modification or degradation.”
Today’s proposal would fully rescind this definition, opening the door for industries of all kinds to destroy the natural world and drive species to extinction in the process.
Given that habitat destruction is the biggest cause of extinction, this definition of harm has been pivotal to protecting and recovering endangered species. It was upheld in the Supreme Court case Babbitt v. Sweet Home - 515 U.S. 687 (1995). The inclusion of habitat destruction in the prohibition on take has been critical to saving species. It’s a key difference between the federal Endangered Species Act and almost all state endangered species laws.
“Without a prohibition on habitat destruction, spotted owls, sea turtles, salmon and so many more imperiled animals won’t stand a chance,” said Greenwald. “Trump is trying to drive a knife through the heart of the Endangered Species Act. We refuse to let him wipe out America’s imperiled wildlife, and I believe the courts won’t allow this radical assault on conservation.”
This content originally appeared on Common Dreams and was authored by Newswire Editor.
Newswire Editor | Radio Free (2025-04-16T21:20:44+00:00) Trump Administration Moves to Gut Habitat Protections for Endangered Wildlife. Retrieved from https://www.radiofree.org/2025/04/16/trump-administration-moves-to-gut-habitat-protections-for-endangered-wildlife/
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