The Trump administration has finalized a rule redefining what constitutes “harm” to endangered species and habitats under the 1973 Endangered Species Act. The change opens up sensitive habitats of protected species to drilling, mining, farming, and real estate development.

Background

The longstanding law had prohibited “habitat modification or degradation” because it could harm or kill endangered animals by impacting their ability to breed and find food or shelter. The Trump administration called the previous definition of harm “outdated” and argued its move “returns the interpretation of the ESA back to its actual text and original intent, which will end years of federal overreach.”

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said the law’s approach had “turned routine activity into a regulatory trap, drove up costs that impacted people’s lives, and expanded federal authority beyond what Congress intended.” Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick added that the new rule would benefit fishermen who suffered from “overly broad and burdensome regulations.”

Reactions

Environmental groups decried the move, with Earthjustice attorney Kristen Boyles stating, “There is no support for the Trump Administration’s rule — no scientific support, no legal support, no public support.” The Interior and Commerce departments insisted narrower “core protections” for endangered species would still be enacted, adding their definition of the bedrock environmental law would prevent “actions that directly injure or kill listed wildlife.”

Original reporting: KOAT Albuquerque — read the source article.