ESA Amendments Act Poses a Historic Threat to America’s Wildlife

Defenders of Wildlife remains on high alert as it braces for the House Natural Resources Committee's full markup of Rep. Bruce Westerman's (R-AR) Endangered Species Amendments Act of 2025. More aptly labeled the Extinction Act, the bill seeks to eviscerate the Endangered Species Act, stripping away decades of crucial protections for America's wildlife and their habitats.

"This action perpetuates a troubling trend of prioritizing politics over science in the interest of extractive industry," said Ellen Richmond, senior attorney for Defenders of Wildlife. "If enacted, it would strike at the heart of the Endangered Species Act by whittling down the safeguards that keep federal agencies from harming the species they are supposed to be protecting. If we remove these protections, we are flirting with extinction."

Among other things, the bill would:

• Narrow the "consultations" that limit harm from federal projects to threatened species - potentially to the point of making them meaningless
• Eliminate safeguards for the "take permits" that allow harm/killing of listed species
• Dramatically extend the timeline for listing decisions while imperiled species continue to slide - even to the point of overwriting court-ordered deadlines
• Warp science-based decision making by elevating consideration of state and locally submitted data, regardless of its quality
• Erode public accountability in wildlife management

The ESA has consistently delivered measurable results, preventing nearly all listed species from extinction. Public support for protecting our homeland's wildlife remains overwhelmingly high with 95% of voters in favor of the ESA, according to nationwide polling conducted by Defenders of Wildlife.

"For more than 50 years, the Endangered Species Act has garnered bipartisan support regardless of the political climate. Weakening it goes against core American values on both sides of the aisle," said Robert Dewey, vice president of government relations at Defenders of Wildlife. "The ESA already supports a balanced approach to economic growth and wildlife conservation. Injecting further politics into legislation that primarily depends on science to save species from extinction is unjust."

By granting authority to state and local level interests, the bill risks creating inconsistencies and weakening safeguards for wildlife that roam across state lines.

Thanks to the ESA, many once-endangered species are flourishing, and others are on the upswing. Yet, much more urgent work remains in the battle against extinction. Without the ESA's current highly effective science-based framework, our precious wildlife could vanish forever.

This bill represents one of the most extreme attempts to gut the ESA in its history and would cause catastrophic effects if enacted. Defenders of Wildlife urges Congress and the administration to reject this dangerous legislation and uphold the policies that protect America's wildlife and wild places that we all value.

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For over 75 years, Defenders of Wildlife has remained dedicated to protecting all native animals and plants in their natural communities. With a nationwide network of nearly 2.1 million members and supporters, Defenders of Wildlife is a leading advocate for innovative solutions to safeguard our wildlife for generations to come. To learn more, please visit https://defenders.org/newsroomor follow us on X @Defenders.

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