Restore the Endangered Species Act
- by: Earthjustice
- recipient: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
The Biden administration just moved closer to undoing the Trump administration's unprecedented damage to the regulations that interpret the Endangered Species Act. For 50 years, the Act has served as the last line of defense for countless species and habitats. Today, it is our strongest tool for tackling the worsening biodiversity crisis, which is why the Biden administration must fix the rules that implement it.
Since the Trump administration began its attacks on the Endangered Species Act four years ago on behalf of special interests who stood to profit, Earthjustice attorneys have fought back in court. And advocates like you submitted tens of thousands of comments, calling out the Trump administration for its shameless actions. Your support helped persuade the Biden administration to undo parts of the Trump administration's damage last year.
Despite the broad support for restoring and strengthening the rules that implement the Act, the Biden administration declined to do everything within its power to protect endangered wildlife. It left multiple loopholes from the Trump-era rollbacks in place, which will undoubtedly jeopardize future efforts to protect wildlife and habitat.
This is unacceptable – the Biden administration promised a return to normalcy, yet these proposed rules do not fully undo the Trump administration's damage. Tell the Biden administration to quickly and fully restore the Act's regulations to their former strength.
The Endangered Species Act is wildly popular and effective. It has prevented extinctions, recovered imperiled plants and animals, and protected the ecosystems on which they depend. Ninety-nine percent of species that have received protection under the Act — including bald eagles, Florida manatees, and gray wolves — have been spared from extinction.
Fully undoing the damage the Trump administration inflicted upon the Endangered Species Act is necessary, but ultimately we need the Biden administration to commit to strengthening the Act. In the coming decades, a million of Earth's species face the possibility of extinction due to climate change, pollution, and habitat loss. Even species that are not yet on the brink will face huge population declines.
The biodiversity crisis means fewer pollinators for agriculture, depleted fisheries, and disappearing places like old-growth forests and wetlands that provide a long-term, low-cost source of clean air and water.
We don't have any more time to waste — tell the Biden administration to act and finally restore the Endangered Species Act regulations.
Since the Trump administration began its attacks on the Endangered Species Act four years ago on behalf of special interests who stood to profit, Earthjustice attorneys have fought back in court. And advocates like you submitted tens of thousands of comments, calling out the Trump administration for its shameless actions. Your support helped persuade the Biden administration to undo parts of the Trump administration's damage last year.
Despite the broad support for restoring and strengthening the rules that implement the Act, the Biden administration declined to do everything within its power to protect endangered wildlife. It left multiple loopholes from the Trump-era rollbacks in place, which will undoubtedly jeopardize future efforts to protect wildlife and habitat.
This is unacceptable – the Biden administration promised a return to normalcy, yet these proposed rules do not fully undo the Trump administration's damage. Tell the Biden administration to quickly and fully restore the Act's regulations to their former strength.
The Endangered Species Act is wildly popular and effective. It has prevented extinctions, recovered imperiled plants and animals, and protected the ecosystems on which they depend. Ninety-nine percent of species that have received protection under the Act — including bald eagles, Florida manatees, and gray wolves — have been spared from extinction.
Fully undoing the damage the Trump administration inflicted upon the Endangered Species Act is necessary, but ultimately we need the Biden administration to commit to strengthening the Act. In the coming decades, a million of Earth's species face the possibility of extinction due to climate change, pollution, and habitat loss. Even species that are not yet on the brink will face huge population declines.
The biodiversity crisis means fewer pollinators for agriculture, depleted fisheries, and disappearing places like old-growth forests and wetlands that provide a long-term, low-cost source of clean air and water.
We don't have any more time to waste — tell the Biden administration to act and finally restore the Endangered Species Act regulations.
Dear: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
Thank you for undoing some of the Trump administration's damage to critical Endangered Species Act regulations. I am heartened by many aspects of your proposed restoration.
However, there are multiple aspects of your proposed rules that are insufficient for the challenges that endangered wildlife are facing.
First, you must go back to the drawing board and fully restore section 7 of the Endangered Species Act, which governs interagency consultation. For 50 years it's been established that the federal government should not engage in activities that could jeopardize species'; survival or destroy habitat they need to survive and recover.
Specifically, the Biden administration must rescind the addition of "as a whole" to section 402.02. This Trump-era language created an enormous loophole, inconsistent with the intent of the Endangered Species Act itself. The nefarious "as a whole" language is a free pass to destroy critical habitat as long as the total destruction of a species' entire critical habitat is avoided. This is especially damaging for wide-ranging and migratory species, from piping plover to marbled murrelet, from salmon to lynx. This language also ignores the cumulative impact of different causes of habitat destruction over time. And it goes against the science-based establishment of critical habitat to ensure both the species survival and recovery, instead treating some areas of critical habitat as expendable.
Additional definition changes from the Trump era that need to be reversed include one that creates unnecessary confusion when examining an agency action that is ongoing, or a continuation of past activities as opposed to something new ("environmental baseline" section 402.02).
Additionally, you must reverse Trump's damaging changes in section 424.11(e) that allow plants and animals to be prematurely delisted. It is essential that species recovery meets all science-based standards before removing the backstop of Endangered Species Act protections that have kept so many species alive.
Each of the many changes to Endangered Species Act regulations made by the Trump administration weakened protections for threatened and endangered species at a time when we must be doing everything in our power to fight the biodiversity crisis and recover species from the brink of extinction. Despite the broad support for restoring and strengthening the rules that implement the Act, you've left multiple loopholes from the Trump-era rollbacks in place, which will undoubtedly jeopardize future efforts to protect wildlife and habitat. By failing to fully restore the Endangered Species Act rules, you've left a significant job.
Sincerely,
[Name]
Ký thỉnh nguyện thưKý thỉnh nguyện thưThank you for undoing some of the Trump administration's damage to critical Endangered Species Act regulations. I am heartened by many aspects of your proposed restoration.
However, there are multiple aspects of your proposed rules that are insufficient for the challenges that endangered wildlife are facing.
First, you must go back to the drawing board and fully restore section 7 of the Endangered Species Act, which governs interagency consultation. For 50 years it's been established that the federal government should not engage in activities that could jeopardize species'; survival or destroy habitat they need to survive and recover.
Specifically, the Biden administration must rescind the addition of "as a whole" to section 402.02. This Trump-era language created an enormous loophole, inconsistent with the intent of the Endangered Species Act itself. The nefarious "as a whole" language is a free pass to destroy critical habitat as long as the total destruction of a species' entire critical habitat is avoided. This is especially damaging for wide-ranging and migratory species, from piping plover to marbled murrelet, from salmon to lynx. This language also ignores the cumulative impact of different causes of habitat destruction over time. And it goes against the science-based establishment of critical habitat to ensure both the species survival and recovery, instead treating some areas of critical habitat as expendable.
Additional definition changes from the Trump era that need to be reversed include one that creates unnecessary confusion when examining an agency action that is ongoing, or a continuation of past activities as opposed to something new ("environmental baseline" section 402.02).
Additionally, you must reverse Trump's damaging changes in section 424.11(e) that allow plants and animals to be prematurely delisted. It is essential that species recovery meets all science-based standards before removing the backstop of Endangered Species Act protections that have kept so many species alive.
Each of the many changes to Endangered Species Act regulations made by the Trump administration weakened protections for threatened and endangered species at a time when we must be doing everything in our power to fight the biodiversity crisis and recover species from the brink of extinction. Despite the broad support for restoring and strengthening the rules that implement the Act, you've left multiple loopholes from the Trump-era rollbacks in place, which will undoubtedly jeopardize future efforts to protect wildlife and habitat. By failing to fully restore the Endangered Species Act rules, you've left a significant job.
Sincerely,
[Name]
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