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The Feds No Longer Protect Endangered Species Habitat. States Say They Can’t Pick up the Slack.
The rule leaves habitat destruction outside the Endangered Species Act’s explicit harm definition, a shift critics say could weaken species protections and permit reviews.
- Earlier this month, the administration determined that destroying the habitat of threatened or endangered species is no longer explicitly illegal under the Endangered Species Act.
- Following the 2024 overturning of the Chevron doctrine, courts no longer defer to federal agencies on interpreting ambiguous laws, allowing the administration to narrow the definition of 'harm' that had survived a 1995 Supreme Court precedent.
- Secretary of the Interior Department Doug Burgum stated the previous approach created a "regulatory trap," arguing the new rule "restores common sense, respects private property, provides much-needed certainty for landowners and follows the statute Congress actually passed."
- Critiquing the change, J.B. Ruhl, a lawyer at Vanderbilt University, said the interpretation "really completely blows up the Endangered Species Act," threatening Habitat Conservation Plans designed to minimize incidental harm.
- Several environmental groups have sued to reinstate the former definition, alleging the rule violates the intent of the ESA; this legal challenge is likely to reach the Supreme Court.
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52 Articles
The feds no longer protect endangered species habitat; states say they can’t pick up the slack
The Trump administration is removing protections from the key places where endangered species live, saying states can keep the areas safe. But experts say states aren’t equipped for the task. Earlier this month, the Trump administration finalized a major change to the Endangered Species Act, rolling back protections for the forests, wetlands, deserts and other critical habitats that many plants and animals rely on. The new rule will open many l…
Coverage Details
Total News Sources52
Leaning Left28Leaning Right1Center13Last UpdatedBias Distribution67% Left
Bias Distribution
- 67% of the sources lean Left
67% Left
L 67%
C 31%
Factuality
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