Trump Administration Makes Major Changes To Protections For Endangered Species

A bald eagle prepares to take off from a pine tree in Pembroke Pines, Fla. The eagle population rebounded after protections put in place under the Endangered Species Act.  Wilfredo Lee/AP

npr.org - by Nathan Rott - August 12, 2019

In a move that critics say will hurt plants, animals and other species as they face mounting threats, the Trump administration is making major changes to how the Endangered Species Act is implemented. The U.S. Department of Interior on Monday announced a suite of long-anticipated revisions to the nation's premier wildlife conservation law, which is credited with bringing back the bald eagle and grizzly bears, among other species.

Republican lawmakers and industry groups celebrated the revisions, some of the broadest changes in the way the act is applied in its nearly 50-year history.

They come at a moment of crisis for many of the world's plant and animal species. As many as 1 million species are at risk of extinction — many within decades — according to a recent U.N. report.

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CLICK HERE - U.S. Department of the Interior - Trump Administration Improves the Implementing Regulations of the Endangered Species Act

CLICK HERE - U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service - Endangered Species - ESA Implementation | Regulation Revisions

CLICK HERE - IPBES Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services

CLICK HERE - H.R.3742 - Recovering America's Wildlife Act of 2019