U.S. Interior Department Revokes Blanket Protections for Threatened Species
The Interior Department cancelled a rule that automatically protected threatened plants and animals, requiring case-by-case plans and economic impact analyses, sparking criticism from environmental groups.
The U.S. Interior Department announced on Friday that it is rescinding a regulation that provided automatic protections for species listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. Under the new approach, each species will require an individualized protection plan before any habitat safeguards are applied, a process that could allow companies to seek exemptions for activities such as oil and gas drilling, mining and other development.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said the Act had been used for too long “to stop almost any new project in America, driving up costs for families, weakening our competitiveness, and undermining our national security,” adding that success should be measured by species recovery and delisting rather than by expanding the list.
Environmental advocates warned that the change could hinder conservation efforts for species awaiting federal protection, including monarch butterflies, alligator snapping turtles, California spotted owls and various snakes, fish, clams and insects. Noah Greenwald of the Center for Biological Diversity said that exempting industries that cause habitat loss would effectively exempt the main threat to those species.
A second rule finalized the same day requires officials to assess economic impacts when determining whether habitat is critical to a species’ survival, a provision critics say could give corporations greater influence over habitat decisions.
The blanket-protection rules, first adopted for wildlife in 1975 and for plants in 1977, were previously rolled back during the Trump administration’s first term and reinstated under Biden. Two organizations, the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and the Property and Environment Research Center, sued the Biden administration in 2024 after the protections were restored, arguing they discouraged landowner participation in recovery efforts.
Jonathan Wood, vice president of the Montana-based research center, said the current administration’s approach “better reward[s] progress and encourage[s] proactive conservation.” No species have been added to the endangered or threatened lists during President Trump’s second term, compared with more than 20 additions in his first term and about 60 under Biden.
Recent policy changes also include narrowing the definition of “harm” to a species, reducing designated critical habitat for the Canada lynx in the Rocky Mountains, and shifting more management authority for grizzly bears to the states where they reside. The Endangered Species Act is credited with helping recover iconic species such as the bald eagle and American alligator.