John,

What do whooping cranes, kit foxes and Devils Hole pupfish have in common?

All three of these animals, along with hundreds of other species, are alive today because of the Endangered Species Act (ESA).1

Since 1973, this pillar of American conservation has protected and preserved some of our most threatened species and the land they call home.2 But the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service have proposed a rule that would alter the ESA so its protections no longer extend to the habitat of endangered species.

Animals can't survive without their homes. We have until May 19 to speak up for the ESA and all the species it protects.

Add your name: The ESA must continue to protect the homes of our most vulnerable species.

This proposal would make one tiny change to the definition of the word "harm," but the impact would be huge on the Endangered Species Act.

The ESA prohibits causing "harm" to any endangered species -- past administrations and a U.S. Supreme Court ruling have understood that the destruction of habitat is "harm." 3

If this proposal passes, any reference to habitat would be removed, making it legal to log, drill and mine in critical habitat.4

Add your name to protect the homes of endangered species.

If someone demolishes your house, they may not have touched you, but they've still caused you harm. It's ridiculous to separate habitat damage from the concept of harm, especially for species that have evolved to live in very specific environments.

Where will the marbled murrelets lay their eggs if all the mossy old-growth trees are logged?5

How will San Joaquin kit foxes find food when their hunting grounds are fragmented by roads and oil derricks?6

Habitat loss is the primary cause of higher extinction rates -- an Endangered Species Act that fails to protect plants and animals from rampant habitat destruction is not going to protect these species from extinction.7

Take a moment to defend the Endangered Species Act as we know it, before the hundreds of species that rely upon it are lost forever.

Thank you,

Ellen Montgomery

1. "Environmental Conservation Online System: Listed Animals," U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, last accessed May 1, 2025.
2. "Endangered Species Act," U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, last accessed May 1, 2025.
3. Eric Barker, "Feds proposing big change to Endangered Species Act rules," The Spokesman-Review, April 18, 2025.
4. Jonathan Lambert, "Destroying endangered species' habitat wouldn't count as 'harm' under proposed Trump rule," NPR, April 17, 2025.
5. Michael Doyle, "Feds find marbled murrelet still at risk in Pacific Northwest," Greenwire, September 3, 2024.
6. "San Joaquin Kit Fox," U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, last accessed May 1, 2025.
7. "Why do animals and plants become endangered?" USGS, last accessed May 1, 2025.