"Several lawsuits and a bipartisan letter from former agency directors condemn the Trump administration’s gutting of habitat protections for imperiled animals and plants."
"A Trump administration rule eviscerating widespread habitat protections for endangered species just went into effect.
First proposed in April, the rule rescinds the long-held definition for a single word—harm—under the Endangered Species Act, a landmark law enacted in 1973 to conserve the country’s imperiled animals and plants. This seemingly tiny tweak has profound consequences, clearing the way for relatively unchecked development on private land across the United States even if endangered and threatened species depend on it for survival.
But Americans who condemn the rule—from conservationists to tribes to political leaders—are fighting back.
Several legal challenges have been filed against the rescission of the harm definition, including a lawsuit filed last week by a coalition of 21 attorneys general. Pushback is coming from both sides of the aisle; at the end of August, a bipartisan contingent of former leaders of agencies once responsible for carrying out the Endangered Species Act sent a letter urging the administration to restore the longstanding definition of harm."
Kiley Price reports for Inside Climate News September 15, 2026.
