Trump administration rolls back protections for threatened species and habitats

The U.S. Interior Department on Friday canceled a rule that provided automatic protections for plants and animals determined to be threatened with extinction Source: AP News. Instead, imperiled species will now require individualized protection plans, a potentially lengthy process that may allow companies to seek exemptions for development Source: AP News. Separately, the administration finalized a change requiring officials to analyze economic impacts when deciding whether habitat is critical to a species' survival, giving corporations more leverage to limit habitat protections Source: AP News.

What changed

The rescinded rule, originally adopted in 1975 for wildlife and 1977 for plants, had provided blanket protections for species listed as threatened Source: AP News. The new policy requires species-specific plans that could slow protections. The economic analysis requirement allows industry to argue against designating critical habitat Source: AP News.

Reactions

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said the Endangered Species Act had been used "to stop almost any new project in America," and that success should be measured by species recovery, not by adding more to the list Source: AP News. Environmental groups condemned the move. Noah Greenwald of the Center for Biological Diversity warned that exempting industries from habitat protections would often remove the main threat to species Source: AP News. The Center for Biological Diversity noted that the two rules substantially weaken protections for struggling plants and animals .