BILLINGS, Mont. — The Trump administration on Wednesday moved to roll back protections for imperiled species and their habitats, reviving a set of Endangered Species Act (ESA) regulation changes from the president’s first term that were blocked under President Joe Biden.
The proposal would eliminate the Fish and Wildlife Service’s “blanket rule,” which automatically extended the same protections to species listed as “threatened” that apply to those listed as “endangered.” Under the change, agencies would have to issue species-specific rules to grant protections — a process that could be lengthy and delay safeguards for at-risk plants and animals.
Republicans in Congress and industries such as oil and gas, mining and agriculture have long pressed for revisions to the ESA, arguing the law has been applied too broadly and can impede economic activity. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said the administration is restoring the law to its original intent while respecting “the livelihoods of Americans who depend on our land and resources.” He called the revisions an end to “years of legal confusion and regulatory overreach.”
Environmental groups and many scientists say the changes could stall recovery efforts for species including the monarch butterfly, Florida manatee, California spotted owl and North American wolverine. “We would have to wait until these poor animals are almost extinct before we can start protecting them. That’s absurd and heartbreaking,” said Stephanie Kurose of the Center for Biological Diversity. Scientists warn extinctions are accelerating globally from habitat loss, climate change and other pressures.
Other pending administration proposals include redefining what counts as “harm” under the ESA — a shift that could exempt some impacts from agency review — and revisions that could allow logging and other projects on federal lands to proceed with fewer species protections. Another change would require officials to analyze economic impacts when deciding whether habitat is “critical” to a species’ survival.
The plight of Yarrow’s spiny lizard in Arizona’s Mule Mountains illustrates the stakes. Warming temperatures have pushed the lizard upslope toward peak elevations and possible local extinction. Advocates filed a petition seeking ESA protection and critical habitat designation, but they warn economic analyses and hurdles around climate-driven threats could delay action. “We think that the species should be listed as endangered. In fact, we are somewhat shocked that it is not already extinct,” said University of Arizona ecologist John Wiens, a co-author of the petition.
The administration’s 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 called the proposal a “necessary course correction” that returns recovery to the heart of the ESA.
Environmental attorneys say the changes go further than rollbacks in Trump’s first term. Kristen Boyles of Earthjustice warned the rules could let agencies ignore harms they do not directly regulate. Trump-era rollbacks previously reduced protections for species including the northern spotted owl and gray wolf; courts later reversed some of those decisions, restoring protections in 2021 and 2022.
The Endangered Species Act currently protects more than 1,600 species in the U.S. and its territories and is credited with helping recover species such as the bald eagle and California condor. Critics and proponents now await public comment, litigation and potential courts to determine how far the newest changes will go.
