Center For Biological Diversity:Trump Administration Kills Protections for Endangered Wildlife Habitat

July 10 -- The Trump administration today finalized a rule removing nearly all habitat protections for endangered species. This decision will leave imperiled species at even greater risk of going extinct. The Endangered Species Act prohibits “take” of endangered species, including actions that harm species. For decades, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service have by regulation defined harm to include “significant habitat modification or degradation.” The latest ruling is a clear attempt to open species’ habitats to logging, mining, oil and gas drilling and other destruction. “Habitat destruction is the number one threat to endangered species and Trump’s decision to toss out the definition of harm is a death knell for America’s wildlife,” said Tara Zuardo, at the Center for Biological Diversity. “If animals don’t have a place to live, they can’t live. Spotted owls, Atlantic salmon, Florida panthers and thousands of other species need protections for the wild places where they make their homes.” Read ON.