- Trump's administration has cancelled a rule that automatically protected plants and animals listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, meaning these species will now require individual protection plans.
- This change could allow companies to seek exemptions for development projects like oil and gas drilling or mining in areas where these species live, with critics arguing it will make it significantly harder to save wildlife such as monarch butterflies and alligator snapping turtles.
- Interior Secretary Doug Burgum defended the move, stating the Act had been used to hinder development and that success should be measured by species recovery; a second change now mandates economic impact analysis when designating critical habitat, which opponents fear will benefit corporations.
- This action is part of a series of significant changes made during Trump's second term, including exempting Gulf of Mexico oil and gas drilling from the Act, narrowing the definition of 'harm' to a species, and reducing critical habitat for Canada lynx.
- No new species have been added to the endangered or threatened lists during Trump's second term, contrasting with over 20 additions in his first term and approximately 60 under President Biden, while the Endangered Species Act is historically credited with saving iconic animals like the bald eagle.
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