By Abbas Nazil
The Trump administration has finalized a major change to the United States Endangered Species Act (ESA) that removes longstanding protections for critical habitats of threatened wildlife, allowing increased logging and mining in areas previously considered essential for species survival.
The policy change, announced by the Department of the Interior and Department of Commerce, eliminates a broader interpretation of the term “harm” under the ESA that for decades protected not only endangered plants and animals but also the ecosystems and habitats they depend on for survival.
Environmental experts and conservation organisations have blasted Trump administration, threatening to challenge the move that could accelerate biodiversity loss by exposing vulnerable species to increased habitat destruction which scientists identify as the leading driver of species decline worldwide.
However, the Trump administration argued that the broader definition represented excessive government interference with private property rights and restricted lawful economic activities.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said the regulatory change was intended to restore what officials described as the original purpose of the law and prevent federal agencies from using species protections to obstruct development projects.
The administration maintained that activities directly injuring or killing protected wildlife would remain prohibited under the revised regulations.
Conservation groups strongly opposed the change, arguing that protecting animals without protecting the places where they live, breed and feed would undermine decades of progress in wildlife conservation.
Earthjustice attorney Kristen Boyles said the new interpretation represents the first time a presidential administration has argued that habitats essential to endangered species survival should not receive protection from destructive modification.
The Center for Biological Diversity also warned that the policy could have devastating consequences for numerous threatened species, including wolverines, monarch butterflies, Florida manatees and other wildlife already facing severe population pressures.
Scientists have warned that the world is experiencing an escalating biodiversity crisis, with an estimated one million species at risk of extinction due to habitat destruction, climate change, pollution and other human-driven pressures.
A global assessment by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services found that approximately 40 per cent of amphibian species and about one-third of reef-forming corals, marine mammals and sharks face extinction threats.
Researchers emphasized that damaging one habitat can trigger wider ecological consequences because species depend on complex networks of plants, animals and environmental conditions.
The decline of one species can disrupt entire ecosystems, creating a chain reaction that threatens other organisms dependent on those ecological relationships.
Despite the policy shift, public support for endangered species protection remains strong in the United States.
A 2023 opinion poll found that 80 per cent of registered voters supported full funding for the Endangered Species Act, while 73 per cent said biodiversity protection is important to their daily lives.
Environmental advocates said they are preparing legal challenges against the new rule, arguing that it lacks scientific and legal justification.
They maintained that weakening habitat protections could increase pressure on already fragile ecosystems at a time when climate change is intensifying threats to wildlife worldwide.
The policy change forms part of a broader effort by the Trump administration to reduce environmental regulations and expand access to natural resources, including fossil fuel extraction and industrial development in sensitive areas.
Conservationists warned that the decision could have long-term consequences for endangered species and ecosystems across the United States, while legal battles over the interpretation of the Endangered Species Act are expected to continue.
For nearly 50 years, the Endangered Species Act has served as one of the United States’ strongest environmental protection laws, helping safeguard more than 1,700 species and preventing 99 per cent of listed species from becoming extinct.
One of the law’s most notable successes has been the recovery of species such as the bald eagle, which was brought back from the brink of extinction through strong conservation measures and habitat protection.
The previous interpretation of the ESA’s definition of harm was upheld by the US Supreme Court in 1995 during a case involving protections for old-growth forests that provided essential habitat for endangered spotted owls.