Wildfire Scorches 12,000 Hectares North of Madrid

The U.S. Interior Department has eliminated a rule that automatically granted protections to species designated as threatened with extinction. This move, criticized by environmental groups, is seen as a significant rollback of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) under the Trump administration.

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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.”

Previously, species listed as threatened received automatic protections. Under the new policy, imperiled species will require individualized protection plans after being added to the threatened list. This process is potentially lengthy and could allow industries like oil and gas, mining, and development to seek exemptions for projects in areas inhabited by these species.

Environmental advocates warn that this change will make it more difficult to safeguard wildlife awaiting federal protection, citing examples such as monarch butterflies and alligator snapping turtles. Noah Greenwald of the Center for Biological Diversity expressed concern that exempting industries that cause habitat destruction would undermine conservation efforts.

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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 that the ESA had been misused to halt projects, increase costs, and weaken national security. He argued that success should be measured by species recovery and delisting, not by simply adding more species to the list. A second change requires economic impacts to be analyzed when determining critical habitat, which critics fear gives corporations undue influence over development decisions.

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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.