The Interior and Commerce departments said they will rescind or revise five Trump-era regulations that reduced federal protections for endangered and threatened species. The replacement rules would give the same protection to threatened species as endangered ones, and would instruct the Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Services to disregard economic impacts when deciding whether a species should go on the endangered list.
“The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is committed to working with diverse federal, tribal, state and industry partners to not only protect and recover America’s imperiled wildlife but to ensure cornerstone laws like the Endangered Species Act are helping us meet 21st Century challenges,” said Martha Williams, FWS principal deputy director.
Trump appointees unveiled their set of proposals in July 2018 and steered them through the rule-making process over the next two years. The Biden administration would reinstate an earlier regulation giving equal protection to endangered and threatened species; affirm that agencies should not be swayed by potential impacts in deciding on listings; revive a requirement for federal agencies to consult with scientists and wildlife officials before approving permits for activities such as oil and gas drilling; rescind a Trump regulation on excluding areas from designation as critical wildlife habitat; and rescind a regulation that defined “habitat” when designating critical habitat.
One-third of American wildlife species are at heightened risk of extinction, said the National Wildlife Federation, which welcomed the administration’s action on the Endangered Species Act. Chief executive Collin O’Mara also urged Congress to pass the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act, “which will save thousands of both at-risk and listed species through collaborative, proactive, on-the-ground recovery efforts, and to increase direct funding for Endangered Species Act recovery plans.”