{"id":2424672,"date":"2025-04-17T12:30:01","date_gmt":"2025-04-17T16:30:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-admin-proposes-cutting-protections-for-endangered-species\/"},"modified":"2025-04-17T12:31:46","modified_gmt":"2025-04-17T16:31:46","slug":"trump-admin-proposes-cutting-protections-for-endangered-species","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-admin-proposes-cutting-protections-for-endangered-species\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump admin proposes cutting protections for endangered species"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ftrump-admin-proposes-cutting-protections-for-endangered-species%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2424672&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The Trump administration has proposed a significant rollback of protections for endangered species by redefining what constitutes &#8220;harm&#8221; under the Endangered Species Act. The change aims to focus the definition on direct actions against individual animals, such as hunting or trapping, rather than broader habitat modifications that may <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">negatively impact species&#8217; environments<\/a>. This proposed rule has drawn criticism from environmentalists who argue that it would endanger already vulnerable species by allowing more progress in their habitats. Critics like Noah Greenwald of the Center for Biological Diversity assert that this move would undermine the effectiveness of the Endangered species Act, which has historically played a crucial role in preventing extinction. The administration&#8217;s proposal will be open for public comment for 30 days, but it faces a challenging precedent set by previous court rulings that uphold broader interpretations of harm. Since the Act&#8217;s inception in 1973, it has been credited with rescuing numerous species from extinction, highlighting the ongoing debate between <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/white-house-releases-list-of-president-trumps-accomplishments-and-it-is-historic\/\" title=\"White House Releases List of President Trump\u2019s Accomplishments \u2013  And It Is Historic!\">environmental protections<\/a> and development interests.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Trump administration proposes cutting habitat protections for endangered species<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1937434\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/trump-administration\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Trump administration<\/a> is seeking to roll back protections afforded to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/animals\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">endangered species<\/a> in an effort to make it easier to build in their habitats.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/fish-and-wildlife\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service <\/a>and National Marine Fisheries Service proposed a rule change on Thursday to redefine &ldquo;harm&rdquo; narrowly in the Endangered Species Act. Under the current interpretation of the law, &ldquo;harm&rdquo; includes habitat modification that may lead to loss of habitat or harm to a species. The agency is seeking to limit the definition of &ldquo;harm&rdquo; to &ldquo;take,&rdquo; which is defined as &nbsp;&ldquo;to harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect&rdquo; the animal itself.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/energy-and-environment\/3383143\/doug-burgum-halts-construction-wind-farm-off-long-island\/\">Burgum halts construction of huge wind farm off Long Island<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/energy-and-environment\/3381830\/trump-order-requires-faster-environmental-permitting-ending-paper-applications\/\">Trump order requires faster environmental permitting process, ending paper applications<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/energy-and-environment\/3381838\/judge-orders-trump-epa-to-release-20-billion-in-funding-for-green-groups\/\">Judge orders Trump EPA to release $20 billion in funding for green groups<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-doj-released-a-115-page-rule-change-to-redefine-a-firearm-heres-what-you-need-to-know\/\" title=\"The DOJ Released A 115-Page ... To Redefine A \u2018Firearm.\u2019 Here\u2019s What You Need To Know.\">proposed rule change<\/a> will be open to a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/bidens-education-department-wants-to-roll-back-effort-to-catalog-teacher-sex-crimes\/\" title=\"Biden\u2019s Education Department Wants to Roll Back Effort to Catalog Teacher Sex Crimes\">30-day public comment period<\/a> and has already been criticized by environmentalists, who say it will put endangered species at greater risk.<\/p>\n<p>Noah Greenwald, director of the Center for Biological Diversity, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalparkstraveler.org\/2025\/04\/trump-administration-said-be-aiming-weaken-endangered-species-act\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">said changing <\/a>the definition of harm&nbsp; would &ldquo;cut the heart out of the Endangered Species Act and be a death sentence for plants and animals on the brink of extinction.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Unless habitat destruction is prohibited, spotted owls, sea turtles, salmon and so many more animals and plants won&rsquo;t have a chance,&rdquo; Greenwald wrote. &ldquo;Humanity&rsquo;s survival depends on biodiversity and no one voted to fast-track extinction. This is a five-alarm fire.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>On his first day in office, President Donald Trump rolled back 80 climate-related orders made under President Joe Biden. The President has previously been at odds with environmental protections for endangered species, such as the Delta smelt, which he <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/3281924\/trump-newsom-feud-endangered-fish-wildfires-water\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">blamed for hindering California&rsquo;s water supply<\/a> at the height of the Los Angeles wildfires.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Environmental is the biggest tool for stopping growth,&rdquo; Trump said during an interview with Joe Rogan last October.<\/p>\n<p>Republicans and developers have previously aired their criticism of environmental protections for endangered species. In 1990, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/senate-confirms-americas-first-native-american-cabinet-secretary\/\" title=\"Senate Confirms America\u2019s First Native American Cabinet Secretary\">northern spotted owl<\/a> was listed as a threatened species, leading the federal government to prohibit building or development on millions of acres in the Pacific Northwest. Logging companies sued, but the high court ruled against them, upholding a broad interpretation of harm.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The Trump administration will have to overcome this precedent. <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/3228342\/department-of-government-efficiency-what-to-know\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\"><strong>WHAT IS DOGE? WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT THE DEPARTMENT OF GOVERNMENT EFFICIENCY<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The Endangered Species Act was enacted in 1973 to protect &ldquo;various species of fish, wildlife, and plants in the United States that had been rendered extinct as a consequence of economic growth and development untampered by adequate concern and conservation.&rdquo; Since its inception, it has been credited with saving 99% of listed species from extinction, including American alligators, whooping cranes, and bald eagles.<\/p>\n<p>The <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> reached out to the Interior Department for comment.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1937434\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1937434\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Trump administration aims to reduce habitat protections for endangered species<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2542,"featured_media":2424673,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Conservation-efforts-owls-1-831x1024.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[53645,36279,3634],"class_list":["post-2424672","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-endangered-species","tag-environmental-policy","tag-trump"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Conservation-efforts-owls-1-831x1024.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2424672","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2542"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2424672"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2424672\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2424676,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2424672\/revisions\/2424676"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2424673"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2424672"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2424672"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2424672"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}