Proposed rule change on endangered species triggers alarm for
environmentalists
[April 17, 2025]
By TAMMY WEBBER
The Trump administration plans to eliminate habitat protections for
endangered and threatened species in a move environmentalists say would
lead to the extinction of critically endangered species because of
logging, mining, development and other activities.
At issue is a long-standing definition of “harm” in the Endangered
Species Act, which has included altering or destroying the places those
species live. Habitat destruction is the biggest cause of extinction,
said Noah Greenwald, endangered species director at the Center for
Biological Diversity.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service
said in a proposed rule issued Wednesday that habitat modification
should not be considered harm because it is not the same as
intentionally targeting a species, called “take.” Environmentalists
argue that the definition of “take,” though, has always included actions
that harm species, and the definition of “harm” has been upheld by the
U.S. Supreme Court.
The proposed rule “cuts the heart out of the Endangered Species Act,”
Greenwald said. “If (you) say harm doesn’t mean significant habitat
degradation or modification, then it really leaves endangered species
out in the cold.”
For example, he said spotted owls and Florida panthers both are
protected because the current rule forbids habitat destruction. But if
the new rule is adopted, someone who logs in a forest or builds a
development would be unimpeded as long as they could say they didn't
intend to harm an endangered species, he said.
The proposed rule was expected to be published in the Federal Register
on Thursday, kicking off a 30-day public comment period.
A U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service spokeswoman referred The Associated
Press to the Department of Interior, which declined to comment.
Environmental groups will challenge the rule in court if it is adopted,
said Drew Caputo, an attorney at Earthjustice.
He said the proposal “threatens a half-century of progress in protecting
and restoring endangered species,” including bald eagles, gray wolves,
Florida manatees and humpback whales. He said that is because the
current rule “recognizes the common-sense concept that destroying a
forest, beach, river, or wetland that a species relies on for survival
constitutes harm to that species.”
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A pair of bald eagles call out while resting on a tree next to Union
Bay, Jan. 16, 2024, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson, File)
The question is whether the Trump administration is entitled to
repeal a rule that was upheld specifically by the Supreme Court and
therefore subject to precedent, said Patrick Parenteau, an emeritus
professor at the Vermont Law and Graduate School who has handled
endangered species cases.
Because of the current definition of harm, “many, many millions of
acres of land has been conserved” to help keep species alive, he
said.
The issue is of particular concern in Hawaii. The islands have more
endangered species than any other state — 40% of the nation’s
federally listed threatened and endangered species — even though
Hawaii has less than 1% of the land area, according to the National
Fish and Wildlife Foundation.
Maxx Philipps, Hawaii and Pacific Islands director for the Center
for Biological Diversity, said removing these safeguards will
accelerate Hawaii’s extinction crisis and erode the biological and
cultural heritage of the islands.
She pointed to the example of tiny native bees that forage on and
pollinate coastal dune plants. Very little oceanfront property
remains undeveloped and what is left tends to be fragmented pockets.
Other listed species living on the shoreline — like green sea
turtles –- could also lose their homes if protections are removed.
“Habitat is life, right?" she said. "And without it, there is no
recovery and without recovery, there is only extinction.”
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Associated Press writer Audrey McAvoy in Hawaii contributed to this
report.
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