BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Biden administration Restored on Thursday Regulations to protect plants and animals at risk rolled back Under former President Donald Trump.
Among the changes, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will reinstate a decades-old regulation mandating full protection for newly classified species. This means that authorities do not have to make time-consuming plans to protect individual species while protection is pending, as has been done recently. north american wolverine In the Rocky Mountains, alligator turtle Southeastern United States and california spotted owl.
The return of more protective regulations has displeased Republicans, who say the Endangered Species Act has been applied too broadly and is hurting economic growth. Wildlife conservationists, meanwhile, were only partially satisfied, saying some potentially harmful changes made under the Trump administration remain untouched.
The Comprehensive Protection Regulation was repealed in 2019. A series of changes to the application of the Species Act Under the Trump administration, industry was behind it.Those changes occurred as follows extinction accelerates Habitats are decreasing around the world due to habitat loss and other pressures.
Another rule on Thursday said officials would not: Consider the economic impact When determining whether animal or plant protection is necessary. Rules from the Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service make it easier to designate areas that are important to the survival of a species, even if the species no longer occurs there.
Species that may benefit from this rule include endangered Southeastern fish and freshwater shellfish, which are often located within their historic ranges. In some cases, officials say they don't exist.
Fish and Wildlife Service Secretary Martha Williams said in a statement that the rule changes are a result of “climate change, degraded and fragmented habitat, invasive species, and wildlife disease” threatening many species. It said it emphasized the agency's commitment to using science to halt population declines.
Details of the rules were obtained by The Associated Press ahead of their release to the public. Officials said nearly 500,000 public comments were submitted regarding the three rules.
Environmentalists expressed frustration that it took years for Democratic President Joe Biden to act on some of the rollbacks of Trump-era policies. Adding to their sense of urgency is the prospect that a new Republican administration will take office after the 2024 election and protections could be loosened again.
Jamie Rappaport Clark, a former Fish and Wildlife Service commissioner and current president of Defenders of Wildlife, called Thursday's announcement, which restores essential protections for wildlife, but was not implemented in 2019 under the Trump administration. He characterized it as a “narrow victory” that would leave some of the changes made in the previous year unchanged. Environmental groups said the provision, if left in place, would open the door to the destruction of habitat vital to the survival of some species.
The rule has drawn strong opposition from Republican lawmakers who say the Biden Democratic administration is blocking oil, gas and coal development. Prefer conservation over development.
“While we know the Endangered Species Act is an outdated law that has repeatedly failed in its primary purpose of restoring listed species, Mr. “and seek to rescind and issue new regulations that will not benefit listed species.” Bruce Westerman, a Republican from Arkansas.
Many energy companies, ranchers, developers, and other industry representatives have long viewed the Endangered Species Act of 1973 as an obstacle. Under the Trump administration, he successfully lobbied to weaken the law as part of a broader dismantling of environmental protections.
The Trump administration also rolled back regulations and protections for endangered species. northern spotted owl, gray wolf and other species.
The spotted owl decision was reversed in 2021 after officials said President Trump spoke out. Political appointees used faulty science To justify opening up millions of acres of forest on the West Coast to potential logging. Protections for wolves were restored in 2021 by a federal court in most parts of the United States.
The Endangered Species Act, signed by President Richard Nixon, is credited with saving the bald eagle and California condor and helping to save many more plants and animals from extinction. Currently, she protects more than 1,600 species in the United States and its territories.
