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Siheks, endangered bird species, lay 1st eggs in the wild in decades
The nine young Siheks had been hand-reared by zookeepers and returned to the wild at The Nature Conservancy's Palmyra Atoll Preserve. (Credit: London Zoo/Zoological Society of London via Storyful)
The Trump administration has finalized a rule that significantly narrows how the Endangered Species Act is enforced, stripping away a decades-old protection and paving the way for drilling, mining and logging on critical wildlife habitats.
Administration officials framed the rewrite as a return to the law's original intent, citing a 2024 Supreme Court decision that reined in the authority of federal agencies to interpret environmental statutes.
New policy changes meaning of ‘harm’
Big picture view:
The policy shift changes the regulatory definition of "harm" under the landmark 1973 law. Previously, the federal government interpreted harm broadly to include activities that damaged or degraded habitats where threatened and endangered species live. Under the new rule, activities like oil and gas drilling, mining, and logging will be permitted in these areas, provided they do not directly kill or injure the animals themselves.
What they're saying:
"For years, federal agencies abused the ESA to obstruct lawful land use and burden American families and businesses," Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said in a statement, describing the previous guidelines as an infringement on private property rights.
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The other side:
Environmental advocates have strongly opposed the new policy, arguing that habitat destruction is the primary driver of species extinction.
"This is one of the most horrific attempts to harm wildlife in American history and a gift to the oil barons and foreign mining companies," Aaron Weiss, executive director of the Center for Western Priorities, told The Associated Press.
FILE: An endangered desert bighorn ewe slowly steps on its lamb to get it to stand up during the rut, or mating season, on August 29, 2023 near Indio, California. Nearing extinction with only 280 desert bighorn sheep left from Palm Springs and Mexico …
What is the Endangered Species Act?
The backstory:
The Endangered Species Act protects more than 1,600 species in the United States and its territories. The law is credited with helping save the bald eagle, California condor and scores more animals and plants from extinction since Republican President Richard Nixon signed it into law in 1973.
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It was just one in a raft of environmental legislation passed beginning in the mid-1960s that included the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act, the Wilderness Act and the National Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. Taken together, it was the most extensive environmental legislation the world had ever seen.
Dig deeper:
Industry groups and congressional Republicans have long criticized the Endangered Species Act, arguing its broad protections unnecessarily stall economic growth and infrastructure projects.
The policy is part of a broader, ongoing effort by the Trump administration to scale back federal wildlife and environmental regulations to encourage more drilling and mining. The rollbacks are similar to other regulations that were eliminated during Trump’s first term, but those rollbacks were reinstated under Democratic President Joe Biden.
The Source: This report includes information from The Associated Press.