BILLINGS, Mont. — The Trump administration on Wednesday unveiled a proposal to roll back several Endangered Species Act (ESA) protections, reviving regulatory changes from the president’s first term that were blocked under President Joe Biden.
The centerpiece of the plan would eliminate the Fish and Wildlife Service’s so‑called “blanket rule,” which automatically extended the same safeguards to species listed as “threatened” that apply to those listed as “endangered.” Under the proposal, agencies would be required to write species‑specific rules to extend those protections — a step that could be time consuming and delay safeguards for vulnerable plants and animals.
Republicans in Congress and sectors such as oil and gas, mining and agriculture have long sought changes to the ESA, arguing the law is sometimes applied too broadly and can hinder economic activity. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said the administration is returning the law to its original intent while protecting “the livelihoods of Americans who depend on our land and resources,” calling the revisions an end to what he described as legal confusion and regulatory overreach.
Environmental groups and many scientists warn the changes could slow recovery efforts for at‑risk species including the monarch butterfly, Florida manatee, California spotted owl and North American wolverine. Advocates say the new approach could mean protections only arrive after species are already critically imperiled. Stephanie Kurose of the Center for Biological Diversity said waiting until animals are nearly gone before protections take effect would be both absurd and heartbreaking.
Other proposed revisions would narrow the definition of what counts as “harm” under the ESA, potentially exempting some impacts from agency review; ease restrictions that can block logging and related projects on federal lands; and require officials to weigh economic impacts when deciding whether habitat is “critical” to a species’ survival.
Conservationists point to the plight of Yarrow’s spiny lizard in Arizona’s Mule Mountains to illustrate the stakes. Rising temperatures have pushed the lizard upslope toward the summit, increasing the risk of local extinction. Advocates filed a petition seeking ESA listing and critical habitat, but they warn that added economic analyses and procedural hurdles could delay action. University of Arizona ecologist John Wiens, a co‑author of the petition, said the species likely warrants endangered status and that it is surprising it has not already vanished from the region.
The move follows a lawsuit filed in March by the Property and Environment Research Center (PERC) and the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, which argued the blanket rule was unlawful and discouraged landowner cooperation in recovery. PERC Vice President Jonathan Wood described the proposal as a necessary correction that refocuses the ESA on recovery.
Environmental attorneys say the current package goes further than rollbacks pursued during Trump’s first term. Kristen Boyles of Earthjustice warned the rules could allow agencies to ignore harms they do not directly regulate. Earlier policy changes under Trump reduced protections for species such as the northern spotted owl and gray wolf; courts later overturned some of those moves, restoring safeguards in 2021 and 2022.
The Endangered Species Act now protects more than 1,600 species in the U.S. and its territories and is credited with helping recover high‑profile species such as the bald eagle and California condor. The new proposals will enter a public‑comment period and are likely to trigger further litigation, leaving courts to determine how far the changes will go.
