Proposed changes to the Endangered Species Act would allow destruction of habitat critical to the survival of endangered species, such as the Kemp's ridley sea turtle/NPS file
A rule proposed by the Trump administration would weaken the Endangered Species Act (ESA) by allowing for the modification of critical habitat threatened and endangered species rely on to survive.
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.”
Under the proposed rule, "harm" would "no longer be interpreted to include habitat destruction," Noah Greenwald, codirector of endangered species at the Center for Biological Diversity, said in an email Wednesday.
“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 Greenwald. “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.”
Given that habitat destruction is the biggest cause of extinction, this definition of harm has been pivotal to protecting and recovering endangered species, according to the Center. 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, the group added in a release. 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.”
Andrew Bowman, Defenders of Wildlife President and CEO, said "the Trump administration is hellbent on destroying [the ESA] to further line the pockets of industry. The vast majority of imperiled wildlife listed as endangered or threatened under the ESA are there because of loss of habitat. This latest salvo to redefine 'harm' to eliminate protection for wildlife from habitat destruction, if successful, will further imperil threatened and endangered species. We will fight this action and continue to protect the wildlife and wild places we hold dear as a nation.”
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