U.S. Interior Department Guts Protections for Threatened Species, Prioritizing Corporate Interests
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The Interior Department has dismantled automatic protections for threatened plants and animals, forcing case-by-case reviews and economic analyses that empower industry and undermine conservation, drawing outrage from environmental groups.
In a move widely condemned by environmental advocates, the U.S. Interior Department announced Friday it is rescinding a regulation that automatically protected species listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, a crucial safeguard that has shielded vulnerable wildlife for decades. The new policy demands individualized protection plans for each species, opening the door for corporations to seek exemptions for destructive activities like oil and gas drilling, mining, and rampant development—industries that have historically devastated habitats and pushed countless species to the brink.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum justified the rollback with tired rhetoric about economic growth and national security, claiming the Act had been used 'to stop almost any new project in America.' This framing ignores the real cost: the irreversible loss of biodiversity and the weakening of ecosystems that sustain life. Burgum’s focus on species delisting rather than robust protection signals a dangerous shift toward prioritizing short-term profits over long-term ecological health.
Environmental groups warn this change will severely undermine conservation efforts for species desperately awaiting federal protection, including monarch butterflies, alligator snapping turtles, California spotted owls, and a host of other at-risk creatures. Noah Greenwald of the Center for Biological Diversity condemned the move, pointing out that exempting industries responsible for habitat destruction essentially exempts the main threat to these species’ survival.
A second rule finalized the same day further entrenches corporate power by requiring officials to assess economic impacts when determining whether habitat is critical to a species’ survival. Critics argue this provision hands corporations even more influence over decisions that should be guided by science and the public good, not profit margins.
The blanket-protection rules, first implemented in the 1970s, were previously gutted under the Trump administration and only recently restored by Biden. Now, after lawsuits from industry-backed groups like the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and the Property and Environment Research Center, the protections are once again being dismantled. These organizations claim the rules discourage landowner participation, but in reality, they serve the interests of wealthy landowners and corporations at the expense of wildlife.
Jonathan Wood of the Montana-based research center praised the administration’s approach as rewarding 'progress' and encouraging 'proactive conservation,' but the facts tell a different story: not a single species has been added to the endangered or threatened lists during President Trump’s second term, compared to over 20 in his first term and about 60 under Biden, reflecting a disturbing neglect of science-based conservation.
Recent policy changes have also narrowed the definition of 'harm' to a species, reduced critical habitat for the Canada lynx, and shifted more management authority for grizzly bears to states, many of which have poor records on wildlife protection. The Endangered Species Act, which has helped recover iconic species like the bald eagle and American alligator, is now under threat from an administration determined to put profits before the planet.