Trump Administration Proposes Ending Most Protections for More Than 100 Threatened Species

By The Center for Biological Diversity | Press Release

05 April 18

he U.S. Department of the Interior quietly sent a proposed rule to the White House on Monday that would effectively rescind most protections for more than 100 species designated as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.

The rule targets species in California, Hawaii, and scores more fish, birds, mammals and plants around the country. They include southern sea otters, northern spotted owls, piping plovers, red knots, Yosemite toads, delta smelt, Santa Catalina Island foxes and gopher tortoises. (A full list is available on request).

Monday’s proposal would rescind a crucial 40-year-old rule. In 1975 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service enacted a rule granting threatened species the same level of protection as endangered species; only if the Service determined that fewer protections were warranted could protections be relaxed.

“The Trump administration just issued a death sentence to more than 100 threatened species,” said Noah Greenwald, endangered species director at the Center for Biological Diversity. “If enacted, this rule could be the end for iconic wildlife like the northern spotted owl and southern sea otter. Trump is erasing America’s natural heritage to make his friends richer and allow polluters to ravage our environment. It’s disgraceful.”

In 2016 an extreme right-wing advocacy group called the Pacific Legal Foundation petitioned the Fish and Wildlife Service to rescind the 1975 protective regulation. The petition was authored by Damien Schiff, who was later nominated by President Trump to be a federal judge.

“If these critical protections for threatened species are eliminated, Trump will go down in history as the extinction president,” said Greenwald. “This administration’s assault on critical safeguards for our air, water and wildlife is not supported by the American public. It threatens to undo decades of progress towards improving the health of the environment for people and wildlife alike.”