The Biden administration has taken action to reinstate crucial protections for endangered species and their habitats, reversing the previous administration’s efforts to weaken these measures. This move demonstrates a renewed commitment to preserving the biodiversity of our ecosystems and ensuring the survival of imperiled species.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will be implementing a new regulation that will restore the previous requirement of providing blanket protections for newly classified threatened animals and plants. This means that officials will no longer be required to create individual protection plans for each species while awaiting official protections. Recent examples of species that have undergone this process include North American wolverines in the Rocky Mountains, alligator snapping turtles in the Southeast, and spotted owls in California.
Republicans were irritated by the restoration of stricter regulations, claiming that the Endangered Species Act was being applied too broadly and negatively impacting economic growth. Although some potentially harmful changes made under Trump remained untouched, wildlife advocates expressed only partial satisfaction.
In 2019, the blanket protections rule was eliminated as part of a series of modifications to the implementation of the species law during the Trump administration. These changes were influenced by the industry and occurred at a time when extinctions were increasing worldwide due to factors such as habitat loss and other environmental pressures.
The rule issued on Thursday provides further clarity on the determination of whether a species should be classified as threatened or endangered, regardless of the potential economic consequences associated with granting such protections. This approach has already been followed by the government, but the 2019 Trump rules caused some confusion as they eliminated a clear directive to disregard economic impacts. According to Gina Shultz, Deputy Assistant Director of the Fish and Wildlife Service, this clarification was necessary to avoid any ambiguity.
The rules implemented by the wildlife service and National Marine Fisheries Service also simplify the process of designating areas as critical for the survival of a species, even if the species is no longer present in those specific locations.
According to officials, the Southeast region could witness significant benefits for imperiled fish and freshwater mussels. This is particularly important as these aquatic animals are currently absent from certain areas within their historical range.
According to a statement from Fish and Wildlife Service Director Martha Williams, the rule changes highlight the agency’s dedication to utilizing the most reliable scientific information in order to address the decline in populations. Williams emphasized the various threats that species face, such as climate change, degraded and fragmented habitat, invasive species, and wildlife disease.
The Associated Press obtained details on the rules ahead of their public release, revealing that nearly half a million public comments were submitted on the three proposals.
Environmentalists are expressing frustration over the delay in action by Democratic President Joe Biden to address certain rollbacks made during the Trump era. They are feeling a sense of urgency due to the possibility of a new Republican administration in 2024 that could potentially weaken environmental protections once again.
According to Jamie Rappaport Clark, president at Defenders of Wildlife and former director of the Fish and Wildlife Service, Thursday’s announcement can be seen as a “marginal win” as it restores crucial protections for wildlife. However, Clark also points out that some of the changes made in 2019 under Trump still remain, which could potentially lead to the destruction of habitat that is vital for the survival of certain species.
Republican lawmakers have strongly opposed the rules, arguing that the Biden administration’s focus on conservation has hindered the development of oil, gas, and coal. They claim that the administration’s policies are biased towards conservation rather than promoting development.
According to House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Bruce Westerman, a Republican from Arkansas, the Endangered Species Act is an outdated piece of legislation that has consistently failed in its primary objective of recovering listed species. Despite this, President Biden is now reversing essential reforms and implementing new regulations that will not effectively benefit these species.
According to property rights attorney Jonathan Wood, the changes made by the Biden administration diminish the motivation for private landowners to engage in voluntary conservation efforts.
When a species is classified as “threatened,” it receives the same level of protection as species classified as “endangered,” thanks to blanket protections. This can lead to a lack of motivation among landowners to actively conserve a threatened species. Even if they manage to successfully downgrade an endangered species to threatened status, they may not see a reduction in government-imposed restrictions.
Shultz, an official from the Fish and Wildlife Service, stated that the main purpose of blanket protections is to safeguard threatened plants. These plants are typically protected under federal law on federal lands, but not on private property. Shultz mentioned that the agency intends to develop specific regulations for protecting threatened animals.
Many energy companies, ranchers, developers, and representatives from various industries have historically regarded the 1973 Endangered Species Act as an obstacle. During the Trump administration, their efforts to reduce the regulatory scope of the law were fruitful, as they successfully influenced the dismantling of environmental safeguards.
The Trump administration’s rule that restricted the designation of lands and waters for federal protection of endangered species was withdrawn by the Biden administration two years ago. Additionally, the Biden administration overturned Trump’s decision to diminish the enforcement of the long-standing Migratory Bird Treaty Act. This decision had made it more challenging to prosecute bird deaths resulting from hazardous oil industry waste pits, wind turbine collisions, and other factors.
The Trump administration also diminished safeguards for specific species, such as the northern spotted owl and gray wolf.
In 2021, officials determined that Trump’s political appointees relied on flawed science to support the opening of vast areas of West Coast forests to logging, leading to the reversal of the spotted owl decision. Additionally, a federal court restored protections for wolves across most of the United States in the same year.
The Endangered Species Act has been instrumental in safeguarding numerous species, including the bald eagle, California condor, and many others, from the brink of extinction. Ever since President Richard Nixon signed it into law, this legislation has played a vital role in protecting over 1,600 species in the United States and its territories.
