A bald eagle flies over a partially frozen Des Moines River, Dec. 21, 2022, in Des Moines, Iowa. Fifty years after the Endangered Species Act took effect, environmental advocates and scientists say the law is as essential as ever. Habitat loss, pollution, climate change and disease are putting an estimated 1 million species worldwide at risk. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall, File)
Presented by Panasonic — The Biden administration finalized a rule on Thursday that reverses some Trump-era rollbacks of protections for endangered species — but left others in place.
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Energy & Environment
Energy & Environment
The Big Story
Biden restores some, but not all, ESA protections
The Biden administration finalized a rule on Thursday that reverses some Trump-era rollbacks of protections for endangered species— but left others in place.
The administration reversed Trump-era changes that allowed economic impacts to be considered when deciding whether to grant a species endangered status – and protections.
It also restored protections for “threatened” species — which are at less risk of extinction than “endangered” species.
“These revisions underscore our commitment to using all of the tools available to help halt declines and stabilize populations of the species most at-risk,” U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services Director Martha Williams said in a written statement.
But, environmental advocates expressed disappointment about some Trump-era measures that were left in, such as those that allowed for some damage to species’ habitats.
“The Biden administration needs to protect more habitat, not less. We need the administration to increase protections for biodiversity, not abandon them. The president has the power, and we need him to use it,” Sierra Club President and CEO Ben Jealous said in a written statement.
Welcome to The Hill’s Energy & Environment newsletter, we’re Rachel Frazin and Zack Budryk — keeping you up to speed on the policies impacting everything from oil and gas to new supply chains.
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