The White House has begun review of a set regulations that could narrow protections for imperiled species by limiting critical habitat designations and bringing economic considerations into decision-making.
The rule changes, proposed last November, are part of a slate of revisions the Trump administration has pushed for to limit the reach of the Endangered Species Act, which imposes broad protections for species that are deemed to be nearing elimination and therefore deserving of special attention.
The changes — to rules implemented by the Fish and Wildlife Service and NOAA Fisheries — include removing language prohibiting “reference to possible economic or other impacts” of a species determination. While decisions to protect imperiled species are still required to be based only on the best scientific and commercial data available, the change could allow the government to study the cost of protecting a species.
Another change revises the rules for critical habitat designations, which FWS and NOAA Fisheries are supposed to finalize for species they deem in need of protection. The alteration would indicate that it may not be “prudent” for regulators to designate critical habitat if the imperiled species suffers from threats that “cannot be addressed by management actions.”
