On “Day Zero” for American Wildlife, Groups Across U.S. Denounce the Trump Administration's Attack on Endangered Species’ Habitat

Today, the Trump administration's unprecedented move to strip imperiled species of protections for the places where they live went into effect. American wildlife including Florida manatees, grizzlies, salmon and steelhead, bird species like rufa red knots, golden-cheeked warblers and northern spotted owls, Hawaiian monk seals and insect pollinators that allow farmers to raise crops - all face a new threat to their survival.

Local and conservation groups representing millions of people across the United States are calling on the administration to stop its war on our fish, wildlife and wild places. The decision to rescind the regulatory definition of "harm" under the Endangered Species Act could enable extractive industries to destroy or modify the habitat of imperiled plants and animals - the places they need to feed, shelter, raise their young - even if it results in their death or injury.

"The Trump administration ignored the law, science and public opinion when it stripped protections against habitat destruction that kills or injures imperiled species," said Jane Davenport, senior attorney at Defenders of Wildlife. "Defenders has challenged the decision in court and will use the full force of the law to restore protections for threatened and endangered species and the forests, mountains, prairies, rivers, lakes and oceans they call home."

See statements from conservation and local groups.

Destroying species' habitat could destabilize ecosystems throughout the country, which people rely on for everything from access to clean water to disease prevention. It could also damage agricultural systems and reduce tourism and outdoor recreation.

The Trump administration's repeal of the "harm rule" was met with broad opposition. According to The New York Times, 99% of the nearly 220,000 public comments submitted to the administration about the repeal were against the change. Republicans and Democrats alike have introduced bills in the House and Senate to undo the repeal. And numerous former directors of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service who served under both Republican and Democratic presidents denounced the rule's demise.

The harm rule was the first in a series of other ESA rollbacks the Trump administration finalized this summer: another rule deprives newly listed threatened animal and plant species from automatically receiving protections from killing, trapping and other forms of prohibited "take" under the ESA; an additional rule gives outsize weight to "economic considerations" when the federal government decides whether to protect endangered species and critical habitat. Conservation groups have challenged these rules in court; but the administration is expected to finalize even more rules attempting to weaken the law in the fall.

The administration's attacks on a law that has saved 99% of species under its protection from going extinct - including bald eagles, American bison, gray wolves and humpback whales - remain politically unpopular: more than four out of five Americans support the ESA.

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For nearly 80 years, Defenders of Wildlife has worked to protect and restore America's wildlife at risk of extinction, advancing a vision of a future in which wildlife thrives, sustained by broad public support and a resilient network of healthy lands and waters. With a network of more than 2 million supporters, Defenders is an advocate for innovative solutions to safeguard wildlife for generations to come. To learn more, please visit https://defenders.org/newsroom or follow us on Instagram @defendersofwildlife.

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