On “Day Zero” for American Wildlife, Groups Across U.S. Denounce Trump’s Attack on Endangered Species’ Habitat

On "Day Zero" for American Wildlife, Groups Across U.S. Denounce Trump's Attack on Endangered Species' Habitat

Bipartisan Members of Congress & former U.S. Fish and Wildlife Directors under Republican and Democrats have also denounced ESA "harm" rule

Contacts

Jackson Chiappinelli, [email protected]

Today, the Trump administration's unprecedented move to strip imperiled species of protections for the places where they live went into effect. American wildlife including Florida manatees, grizzlies, salmon and steelhead, bird species like rufa red knots, golden-cheeked warblers and northern spotted owls, Hawaiian monk seals, and insect pollinators that allow farmers to raise crops - all face a new threat to their survival.

Local and conservation groups representing millions of people across the U.S. are calling on the White House to stop its war on our fish, wildlife, and wild places. The decision to rescind the regulatory definition of "harm" under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) could enable extractive industries to destroy or modify the habitat of imperiled plants and animals - the places they need to feed, shelter, raise their young - even if it results in their death or injury.

See statements from conservation and local groups.

Destroying species' habitat could also destabilize ecosystems throughout the country, which people rely on for everything from access to clean water to disease prevention. Destroying wild places could also damage agricultural systems and reduce tourism and outdoor recreation.

The Trump administration's repeal of the "harm rule" was met with broad opposition. According to The New York Times, 99 percent of the nearly 220,000 public comments submitted to the administration about the repeal were against the change. Republicans and Democrats alike have introduced bills in the House and Senate to undo the repeal. And numerous former directors of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service who served under both Republican and Democratic presidents denounced the rule's demise.

The harm rule was the first in a series of other ESA rollbacks the Trump administration finalized this summer: another rule deprives newly listed threatened animal and plant species from automatically receiving protections from killing, trapping, and other forms of prohibited "take" under the ESA; an additional rule gives outsize weight to "economic considerations" when the federal government decides whether to protect endangered species and critical habitat. Conservation groups have challenged these rules in court; but the White House is expected to finalize even more rules attempting to weaken the law in the fall.

The administration's attacks on a law that has saved 99% of species under its protection from going extinct - including bald eagles, American bison, gray wolves, and humpback whales - remain politically unpopular: more than four out of five Americans support the ESA.

Additional Resources

• About the Biodiversity Defense Program

About Earthjustice

Earthjustice is the premier nonprofit environmental law organization. We wield the power of law and the strength of partnership to protect people's health, to preserve magnificent places and wildlife, to advance clean energy, and to combat climate change. We are here because the earth needs a good lawyer.