Amid a global biodiversity crisis, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s decision to further weaken the Endangered Species Act will push numerous species that much closer to extinction.
On December 17, 2020—just two days after the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service finalized a senseless new rule under the Endangered Species Act—the agency pushed through yet another change that even further weakens this critical wildlife protection law. This time, the new rule will decrease designation of critical habitat based on economic costs, "making critical habitat analysis less about survival of a species and more about profits" for developers and fossil fuel interests, says Rebecca Riley, legal director of NRDC's Nature Program. "The rule improperly shifts responsibility for economic analyses to industry as well as state and local governments, an abandonment of the agency’s responsibilities under the law."
Trump Administration Hamstrings Ability to Conserve Wildlife Habitat
On December 17, 2020—just two days after the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service finalized a senseless new rule under the Endangered Species Act—the agency pushed through yet another change that even further weakens this critical wildlife protection law. This time, the new rule will decrease designation of critical habitat based on economic costs, "making critical habitat analysis less about survival of a species and more about profits" for developers and fossil fuel interests, says Rebecca Riley, legal director of NRDC's Nature Program. "The rule improperly shifts responsibility for economic analyses to industry as well as state and local governments, an abandonment of the agency’s responsibilities under the law."
Trump Administration Hamstrings Ability to Conserve Wildlife Habitat
