Endangered species in America could be a little more endangered if the Trump administration has its way. The federal government is looking to limit the power of the Endangered Species Act. This would effectively stop it from protecting animal habitats.
On April 16, the Trump administration proposed to limit the power of the act. Their proposed change would only limit activities that harmed the animals themselves but not their habitats. This would effectively allow developers to mine and build in areas where endangered animals live. The action had drawn immense backlash from researchers and animal rights activists.
"Habitat loss is the biggest single cause of extinction and endangered species — it makes sense to address it," said Brett Hartl, government affairs director at the Center for Biological Diversity, per NPR. "Any conservation gains species were making will be reversed — we're going to see losses again."
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service said that changing a habitat for an Endangered animal does not meet the legal definition of harm. However, Noah Greenwald, the director at the Center for Biological Diversity, said the limitation "cuts the heart out of the Endangered Species Act. "
Endangered Species Threatened
"If (you) say harm doesn't mean significant habitat degradation or modification, then it really leaves endangered species out in the cold," he said.
"If you're a prairie chicken in the Southwest, and there's an oil and gas developer and they want to destroy your prime breeding display grounds, the bird can't mate," Hartl also added.
"The Department of the Interior is excited about the potential of 'de-extinction' technology and how it may serve broader purposes beyond the recovery of lost species, including strengthening biodiversity protection efforts and helping endangered or at-risk species," read the post.
"The only thing we'd like to see go extinct is the need for an endangered species list to exist," Burgum added. "We need to continue improving recovery efforts to make that a reality, and the marvel of 'de-extinction' technology can help forge a future where populations are never at risk."
