The Biden administration for threatened wildlife that had been previously dropped during the Trump presidency. The changes are minor, but they鈥檝e sparked fierce debate about the purpose and function of the Endangered Species Act.
The changes will reinstate a decades-old so-called blanket rule that protects species newly classified as 鈥渢hreatened,鈥� among other technical alterations. It also requires officials to not consider economic impacts 鈥� including for energy or job development 鈥� during Endangered Species Act listing decisions.
The blanket protections and economic language were altered in 2019 by the Trump administration in an effort to appeal to industries like agriculture and energy. Federal officials say the new rules are responding to the urgent needs plants and animals are facing amidst climate change. Currently, the Endangered Species Act protects more than 1,600 species across the country.
鈥淭he Endangered Species Act is more important than ever to conserve and recover imperiled species now and for generations to come,鈥� U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Martha Williams said in a statement. 鈥淭hese revisions underscore our commitment to using all of the tools available to help halt declines and stabilize populations of the species most at-risk.鈥�
Dr. Lowell Baier, an environmental attorney and historian for several decades, said the updates will result in very few shifts to how federal officials actually manage threatened and endangered plants and animals. But he lamented the political discourse that has already surfaced over the past week.
鈥淲hen you really analyze them and look at them carefully, it's all smoke and mirrors,鈥� he said. 鈥淎s partisanship has become the standard here in Washington, each administration just plays tennis with the Endangered Species Act, unfortunately.鈥�
For environmental groups, the new rules don鈥檛 go far enough to preserve U.S. species from extinction. A from the Center for Biological Diversity called them 鈥渨eak.鈥�
Conservative politicians, meanwhile, criticized the changes as harmful to the nation鈥檚 economy. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) the rules will 鈥渨reak havoc across the West.鈥�
鈥淏eyond giving D.C. bureaucrats the power to infringe on property rights and shut down good paying jobs, the reforms reject common sense in favor of big government regulations,鈥� Lummis said in a statement. 鈥淭hese rules will not change the fact that less than 2% of species listed are recovered, but they will cost Wyoming and the West dearly.鈥�
For Baier, this debate 鈥� and likely legal challenges 鈥� distracts federal officials from doing their jobs and erodes the trust and integrity of the Endangered Species Act. Currently, seek to weaken the 50-year-old law.
鈥淭his is not a red or blue issue,鈥� Baier said. 鈥淲e don't want any changes. It's fine as it is. All it needs is funding.鈥�
Baier has written several books about the past, present and future of the Endangered Species Act, and has recently released a shorter book, Earth鈥檚 Emergency Room, about the historic highs and lows of the law.