US cancels automatic protections for threatened species, sparking extinction fears

The U.S. Interior Department has eliminated automatic protections for species deemed threatened with extinction, a move critics argue will accelerate extinctions and benefit industry.

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The Endangered Species 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."

The Trump administration's latest rollback of the Endangered Species Act shifts protections from automatic to individualized plans. This process is criticized as potentially lengthy, allowing companies involved in oil and gas drilling, mining, and other development to seek exemptions in areas where these species live.

Environmental groups like the Center for Biological Diversity expressed concern, with Noah Greenwald stating that exempting industries that cause habitat destruction undermines conservation. He noted that the changes could make it harder to save species like monarch butterflies and alligator snapping turtles.

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Success should be measured by species recovery and delisting, not by adding more species to the list.

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum defended the changes, stating the Endangered Species Act had been overused to halt projects, increasing costs and weakening competitiveness. He argued that success should be measured by species recovery, not by adding more species to the list.

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If you're exempting certain industries that cause habitat destruction, in many instances you'll be exempting the main threat to those species.

Critics also point to a finalized change requiring analysis of economic impacts when determining critical habitat. They fear this gives corporations undue influence to permit development in sensitive areas. The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and the Property and Environment Research Center, however, sued the Biden administration after it restored blanket protections, arguing it removed incentives for landowners to participate in conservation.

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better reward progress and encourage proactive conservation.