Trump Administration Rewrites Endangered Species Protections: See What's Changing

By Chris Spiker From Daily Voice

The Trump administration is rolling back the Endangered Species Act to restore changes from the president's first term that a federal judge later blocked.

The Department of the Interior released the four proposed rules on Wednesday, Nov. 19. The changes include ending the "blanket rule" for the US Fish and Wildlife Service that automatically protects threatened animals and plants.

The new rule would require specific regulations for each species that's classified as threatened.

"This administration is restoring the Endangered Species Act to its original intent, protecting species through clear, consistent, and lawful standards that also respect the livelihoods of Americans who depend on our land and resources," Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said. "These revisions end years of legal confusion and regulatory overreach, delivering certainty to states, tribes, landowners, and businesses while ensuring conservation efforts remain grounded in sound science and common sense."

The changes follow decades of demands from Republicans, fossil fuel companies, and agricultural producers to modify the 1973 Endangered Species Act. During his first term, President Donald Trump took similar steps to undercut the law's power to reduce regulations and promote economic growth.

Conservationists argue that creating species-specific rules is a time-consuming process that could delay protections for vulnerable animals.

"They're trying to take us back to the first time they weakened the law," Natural Resources Defense Council managing director Rebecca Riley told NBC News. "We fought that, and the Biden administration reversed many of the worst changes they made, and they are moving to put them back in place."

In 2022, a federal judge ended many of the first Trump administration's rollbacks to the Endangered Species Act. The ruling reinstated the "blanket rule," along with canceling Trump's previous attempt to reduce protections for animals like the northern spotted owl and gray wolves.

A spotted owl sitting on a tree branch.

Wikimedia Commons - National Park Service/Emily Brouwer

The Center for Biological Diversity blasted the Trump administration's proposal, saying that it could cause widespread damage to the nation's ecosystems.

"If these Trump proposals had been in place in the 1970s, the only place you'd find a bald eagle today is on the back of a dollar bill," said Stephanie Kurose, the nonprofit's deputy director of government affairs. "This plan hacks apart the Endangered Species Act and creates a blueprint for the extinction [of] some of America's most beloved wildlife."

Interior officials claim the new rules would reform the process for listing and delisting species. The moves would also change how unoccupied habitat is designated, which environmentalists argue would open up more protected land for extracting natural resources.

The shift also comes after the landmark Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo decision in June 2024, which ended Chevron deference and requires agencies to strictly follow laws without interpreting them.

"These actions reaffirm our commitment to science-based conservation that works hand in hand with America's energy, agricultural, and infrastructure priorities," said Fish and Wildlife Service director Brian Nesvik. "By restoring clarity and predictability, we are giving the regulated community confidence while keeping our focus on recovery outcomes, not paperwork."

A Florida manatee swimming near a school of fish.

Wikimedia Commons - US Fish and Wildlife Service/Keith Ramos

Advocates also say the changes would dramatically hurt the federal government's ability to help animals losing "critical habitat" due to climate change.

"Trump's proposals are a death sentence for wolverines, monarch butterflies, Florida manatees, and so many other animals and plants that desperately need our help," Kurose said. "We assumed Trump would attack wildlife again, but this dumpster fire of a plan is beyond cruel. Americans overwhelmingly support the Endangered Species Act and want it strengthened, not sledgehammered. We've fought this before and we'll fight it again."

A polling review in June found that about 84% of Americans have supported the Endangered Species Act's protections since 1996.