Deadline Tomorrow: Speak Up for Endangered Species!
Dear John,
The attempts to undermine the Endangered Species Act just keep coming. Earlier this month, the Trump administration proposed a new rule that would harm threatened and endangered species by making it harder to protect the habitat that is critical for their survival. The proposed rule seeks to establish a new definition of "habitat," which federal agencies will use as a starting point to further designate "critical habitat" under the ESA.
Designation of critical habitat is a vital tool available under the ESA to help conserve species. Critical habitat is specific geographic areas that contain features essential to the conservation of a threatened or endangered species, including shelter, water, food, and other nutritional requirements; areas for breeding and raising young; and adequate space for animals to engage in normal growth and behaviors.
This proposed change would result in the exclusion of areas that do not meet a restrictive definition of habitat, thereby decreasing the amount of habitat that can be protected under the ESA. Preventing reckless development on critical habitat is vital for stabilizing populations of threatened and endangered species. Listed species that have protected habitat are more than twice as likely to move toward recovery than species without it.
This move comes less than a year after the administration finalized three sweeping rules that weakened this vital conservation law. At this point, it's no surprise that the administration continues to cave to industry demands at the expense of imperiled species. However, we will never stop fighting these appalling setbacks, and we need your help.