Atrocious Reported Changes to the ESA Could Threaten Extinction to Park Wildlife, Wild Nature

WASHINGTON – An internal memo reported in the New York Times reveals a plan that would drastically reinterpret the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in a way that would risk the survival of the very animals and plants the law is intended to protect.

As reported, the Administration’s clear misinterpretation of the term “take” would mean the law only protects against the intentional killing of species. As the memo lays out, “A vessel that inadvertently strikes a whale has not taken it, because the vessel’s course was not set against the whale.” Similarly, “Felling a tree is not a take of the bats roosting in it unless the tree is felled for the purpose of killing or capturing them.” This approach would lead to the decline and even extinction of park species.

“It’s atrocious if this memo is the confirmed new direction for how the Fish and Wildlife Service will uphold the ESA. The reported policy would drastically undermine fish and wildlife recovery across America, including in our beloved national parks,” said National Parks Conservation Association Wildlife Program Director Stephanie Adams. “Protecting and restoring species is the basis of the ESA and why it remains one of our country’s most successful and broadly supported conservation laws. This memo appears to suggest that it’s no longer the purpose of the ESA to ensure animals such as grizzly bears, North Atlantic right whales, or Florida panthers are protected.”

The reported memo follows multiple attacks on the ESA, including the July release of a final rule which alters how “harm” is defined under the law – a definition that has been in place for decades and upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court. This final Trump rule rescinds the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s and National Marine Fisheries Service’s definitions of what counts as illegal “harm” to threatened and endangered wildlife under the ESA. “Harm” has long been defined to include significant habitat modification that kills or injures species by removing necessities such as food and shelter. NPCA and other conservation groups also notified the Trump administration in July of plans to challenge two additional recently finalized rules that weaken the ESA.

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About the National Parks Conservation Association: Since 1919, the nonpartisan National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) has been the leading voice in safeguarding our national parks. NPCA and its more than 1.9 million members and supporters work together to protect and preserve our nation’s most iconic and inspirational places for future generations. For more information, visit www.npca.org.