Trump rolls back protections for threatened species and habitat for endangered species

The Trump administration on Friday rolled back protections for at-risk animal and plant species under the Endangered Species Act.

Under prior regulations, species that were considered “threatened” — at risk but a step below endangered — would still receive the same protections as those that are endangered.

Now, the Trump administration says it will instead evaluate protections for species newly designated as threatened on a case-by-case basis.

The Trump administration also said it would make it harder to designate areas as protected “critical habitat” for endangered species. This is expected to make it easier for industrial development in these areas.

In particular, the administration said it will newly consider economic and national security impacts of a potential critical habitat designation and exclude areas from such designations if doing so will not cause a species to go extinct.

“For too long, the Endangered Species Act has been weaponized to stop almost any new project in America, driving up costs for families, weakening our competitiveness, and undermining our national security,” Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said in a statement on the decision.

It comes after a further effort to loosen protections for endangered and threatened species last week. At that time, the Trump administration got rid of language that explicitly prohibited significantly changing an endangered species’ habitat to the point that it “actually kills or injures wildlife” by preventing food, shelter or breeding.

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