ESA Rule Change May End Habitat Protection

[{"selector":"#anim-af4bd700-9fe7-44a0-866f-169c1c3dc4f6","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":500,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-1d4413c4-ae2f-4ea9-ba9c-da3af681d6d2","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(-114.55696%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":500,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-748a18f5-98fe-4879-a6bb-6d6d052025ae","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":800,"duration":500,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-502ace88-6670-4c71-a6e6-b128b00af559","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(-122.3301%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":800,"duration":500,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] ESA Rule Change May End Habitat Protection Govind Tekale

Trump administration aims to strip crucial habitat protections from endangered wildlife by changing what "harm" means under the law.

[{"selector":"#anim-33bcce7c-c7d6-4594-87f1-f0943b1dd68f","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":300,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-774592dd-371e-4f43-83a1-242a6450f373","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(115.50632%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":300,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-91db6f41-a58b-4783-a7d7-325d2dd39505","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":400,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-8222ad44-f3a1-4efb-b5b5-13d8d894baaa","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0px, 116.02864%, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":400,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-6ef6aaac-f97a-46e3-a4b0-38920947cc4a","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":1400,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-44d9b649-d741-4bb1-aceb-442c345311c7","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":1400,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] Photo Source: Gage Skidmore (CC BY-SA 2.0) Representative Image

The proposed rule would only protect species from direct killing or injury, not from destruction of forests, wetlands, and other places they need to survive.

[{"selector":"#anim-14198152-26ea-4d9e-97ad-551f760d00d0","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":300,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-0eccc08d-e084-400e-a238-31c81e5512b9","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0px, 163.7807%, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":300,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-7d1c8227-81be-497b-856d-5596f4000db6","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":400,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-63e9e5d1-09fa-47f4-b726-25347b971b04","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0px, -111.1955%, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":400,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-b54ba378-9015-4a90-a4bf-92326785b204","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":1400,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-97421e85-98e5-4d3e-a209-a0d0390adf61","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":1400,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] Photo Source: Timon Cornelissen (Pexels) Representative Image

Habitat loss drives most endangered species toward extinction, making this rule change particularly threatening to wildlife recovery efforts.

[{"selector":"#anim-f985e7bb-59a8-4f4d-a28d-e6ffef7d5fb0","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":400,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-cec14c62-cd41-40ab-a38d-a1a6decb4977","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0px, 116.58885%, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":400,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-a5694474-728d-422c-8abe-229b957cd9fc","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":300,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-41c0f5c5-a1f8-46a3-8ce7-797ea327b0f3","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(113.60759%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":300,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-b97bbcda-8a6f-404e-bc4d-6bea48d30748","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":1400,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-e1d189d3-2f76-4d2c-819a-a27b79329aa5","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":1400,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] Photo Source: konjure (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) Representative Image

What they're proposing will fundamentally upend how we've been protecting endangered species in this country," warns Noah Greenwald from the Center for Biological Diversity.

[{"selector":"#anim-a05797e9-ba61-4f89-a3ca-ffe70faea3c5","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":300,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-b04409aa-02e5-482d-8286-ef62bf380ba6","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0px, 139.34928%, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":300,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-e6d3a15a-5748-4de9-8e18-a5e1ef733eec","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":400,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-d0608740-f23f-43ad-8a43-6f346f032798","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0px, -114.48664%, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":400,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-6eb8eaf9-da2b-452a-8d02-d7328f219dd1","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":1400,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-ce1fbc1a-580e-464f-bbb1-330d17ad0a24","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":1400,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] Photo Source: Jeffrey Beall (CC BY-SA 2.0) Representative Image

Energy industry supporters claim the current habitat rules block development projects that wouldn't actually hurt wildlife.

[{"selector":"#anim-a0167b1a-17ce-4675-aa9b-b236f2842b54","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":400,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-3f3e5a19-1cb5-4045-aa73-82b1f4d42fa8","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0px, 116.02864%, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":400,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-0d24be46-5b9a-4c74-9521-1eef4d671196","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":300,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-94b5e579-85a2-4e8c-8187-a969d42d075c","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(115.18987%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":300,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-6676ca56-ffde-45ac-8dc2-840af6123839","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":1400,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-06bca83c-e61f-4f26-8453-e11b7db81a91","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":1400,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] Photo Source: Tayssir Kadamany (Pexels) Representative Image

The Supreme Court previously upheld habitat protections in 1995, ruling that indirect harm through habitat destruction was covered under the Endangered Species Act.

[{"selector":"#anim-e53e2996-89fa-495b-b557-ccd3883b1130","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":300,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-eac45555-695a-4495-b64a-e224ea923e90","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0px, 163.7807%, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":300,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-6bccf3b1-5cc7-4453-9afc-886fbba10a67","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":400,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-d6b40fba-a30c-4c1a-ac42-562b03af0c66","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0px, -114.48664%, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":400,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-38ba0504-e414-43f3-a586-2eeecf4f8702","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":1400,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-6c0832d5-eeeb-4f47-a3c8-ea5ed5a1ce2c","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":1400,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] Photo Source: Joe Ravi (CC BY-SA 3.0) Representative Image

Northern spotted owls, red-legged frogs, and countless other species could lose critical safeguards if timber companies can log their habitats without restrictions.

[{"selector":"#anim-d6b4d4c4-a12d-4f8e-b1a8-25600a4a39fd","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":400,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-43d76045-815d-4be8-95a2-29e052d1b339","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0px, 116.02864%, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":400,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-924fa40d-bcd2-4d39-a518-7bc74f450532","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":300,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-da3e1ad8-a082-477d-8808-77064341a63f","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(115.18987%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":300,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-85f157ad-cd9f-482a-b33c-010dfe22708c","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":1400,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-f8bd1d66-642e-46a8-916b-045059bfa096","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":1400,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] Photo Source: Sounds Wild (CC BY-SA 4.0) Representative Image

Environmental groups have already promised to fight the changes in court, calling it "a knife through the heart" of wildlife protection.

[{"selector":"#anim-dbc66c9a-3623-4200-b6e1-270da703556a","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":300,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-e25e1ba6-e5da-4af5-9483-92f6f7614943","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0px, 197.8299%, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":300,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-6e584e31-a775-403b-a94b-49daf5729d8a","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":400,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-3ff29d74-de08-4bb2-ad6b-011fdc3243dd","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0px, -114.48664%, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":400,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-97d6ec64-6f5c-4318-82f3-e12d1ac5fe59","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":1400,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-c562ec6b-4604-4154-ac83-341691221ef1","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":1400,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] Photo Source: AZZJJ (CC BY-SA 4.0) Representative Image

The public has 30 days to comment on the proposed changes before they potentially become final regulations.

[{"selector":"#anim-02b32616-82a1-4593-822f-295d4b7479fe","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":400,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-8a3b88d1-8e7a-4ee2-a95c-cfa1b2da8a79","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0px, 116.02864%, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":400,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-48792f97-26f9-46c3-a913-c5d571193a6b","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":300,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-deec5131-5251-4b89-bf49-d1267519f5dd","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(115.18987%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":300,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-cfccc19b-22cf-46bb-bea9-ebbb8a1b1772","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":1400,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-a47c56d2-022c-4fed-bd79-64141d259bdd","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":1400,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] Photo Source: Eren Li (Pexels) Representative Image

[{"selector":"#anim-2937efd8-6848-4d46-b55d-e806bdebd170","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":200,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-df6dadf8-3a99-4ce1-827e-67b02f248962","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":200,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-403dafed-4e52-44e6-a9a4-92cb7c9eb70b","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(-114.50152%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":200,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-22059ec1-9c09-4a90-9511-ff085cba44f7","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":700,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-564209c7-a30d-4aeb-ad1c-8de1124d124e","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(115.2381%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":700,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] Point Reyes Rezones 16,000 Acres, 11 Ranchers Exit, Tule Elk Thrive Learn more