The United States Interior and Commerce Departments approved changes to endangered species definitions on July 10, opening sensitive habitats to business development, CNN reported earlier this month.
The changes relate to the definition of “harm” to endangered habitats under the 1973 Endangered Species Act (ESA).
According to CNN, the original definition, in place for over 50 years, prohibited “habitat modification or degradation,” a definition upheld by the US Supreme Court in a 1995 ruling.
The report cited the Trump administration as saying that the new definition “returns the interpretation of the ESA back to its actual text and original intent, which will end years of federal overreach,” with the former definition referred to as “outdated.”
CNN further cited Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, who described the former law as a “regulatory trap.”
“[The law] drove up costs that impacted people’s lives, and expanded federal authority beyond what Congress intended,” said Burgum. “For years, federal agencies abused the ESA to obstruct lawful land use and burden American families and businesses.”
Burgum noted the changes as “common sense,” with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick adding that the changes remove “overly broad and burdensome regulations.”
Environmentalists, such as Earthjustice attorney Kristen Boyles, responded negatively to the changes, challenging the new legislation’s legality.
“There is no support for the Trump Administration’s rule, no scientific support, no legal support, no public support,” CNN cited Boyles as saying.
Oceana Senior Campaign Director Gib Brogan emphasized the significance of the changes in a statement cited by CNN.
“Habitat loss is the number one cause of extinction,” said Brogan. “When you remove habitat protections, you remove one of the law’s most important safeguards.”
Notably, the Interior and Commerce Departments stressed that the changes would preserve “core protections” for endangered species, CNN reported, and would avoid any actions that “directly injure or kill listed wildlife.”
