Revisions weakening the effectiveness of the Endangered Species Act and it’s ability to list threatened species.
These changes (and so many others that threaten wildlife) were enacted by President Trump’s first Secretary of the Interior, Ryan Zinke – a man selected not for his appreciation for nature, but for his passion for exploiting it.
Status
Aug. 3th, 2018 REPEALED
Endangered Species Act: Mitigation Policy
Repealed guidelines on how to mitigate ‘negative conservation outcomes’ that result from developer actions.
Endangered Species Act: Compensatory Mitigation Policy
Repealed a program requiring developers to compensate for damages done by their activities on public lands.
Endangered Species Act: Compensatory Mitigation Policy | Brookings Deregulation Tracker
Aug. 12th, 2019 REVISED RULES; WEAKENED ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT
Listing Endangered Species and Designation Critical Habitat
Revisions include (but are not limited to): the reversal of a prohibition on Fish & Wildlife Services from describing economic factors when listing or reclassifying a species; the weakening of such definitions as “foreseeable future” and so placing limit on long-term protection considerations; and a return to pre-Obama era standards for designating critical habitats.
Prohibitions to Threatened Wildlife and Plants: Reduce Scope
A rule allowing the lifting of regulations and prohibited activities (such as mining or logging) in the presence of “threatened species” – leaving it in place only for those species whose status is “endangered”.
Endangered Species Act: Rule Revisions | Brookings Deregulation Tracker
Notables
- 17 state attorney generals initiated a suit against the administration, challenging its decision to dramatically weaken the Endangered Species Act.
The Trump administration weakened Endangered Species Act rules — 17 state attorneys general have sued over it | Washington Post (9.25.19)
- The constraints added to the term “foreseeable future” allow lawmakers to ignore such long-term considerations as the effects of climate change and its impact on threatened species.
Trump Administration Overhauls How the Endangered Species Act Is Enforced | Smithsonian Magazine (8.13.19)
