The Trump administration has decided that the Endangered Species Act (ESA) has been far too considerate of endangered species, finalizing a new rule on Friday that opens their habitats to logging, mining, and other development. For 50 years, the ESA included habitat destruction under its definition of "harm," a move upheld by the Supreme Court in 1995 to protect things like old-growth forests for spotted owls. But the Department of the Interior and Department of Commerce have now reframed that as "regulatory intrusion" and rescinded it, despite overwhelming public opposition and the fact that habitat loss is the leading cause of species extinction.

Habitat destruction is the number one driver of species loss, yet the administration has decided that protecting homes for the 1,700-plus species safeguarded by the ESA - including the iconic bald eagle - is just too burdensome. Earthjustice attorney Kristen Boyles noted that for the first time ever, a presidential administration is claiming protected species shouldn't be safe from habitat modification that destroys where they live, raise young, or search for food. Stephanie Kurose of the Center for Biological Diversity called the plan "a death sentence for wolverines, monarch butterflies, Florida manatees and so many others," which is about as dire as it sounds.

This regulatory rollback comes amid an extinction emergency, with roughly 1 million species threatened with extinction, including 40% of amphibians and a third of reef-forming corals, according to a 2019 IPBES assessment. Insects, the bedrock of biodiversity, are in rapid decline, with 80% of species still unidentified and some vanishing before they're even named. The domino effect of habitat loss threatens entire ecosystems.

Despite 80% of voters supporting full ESA funding in a 2023 poll, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum claims the changes align with the law's original intent, accusing federal agencies of turning "routine activity into a regulatory trap." Officials insist that directly injuring or killing listed wildlife remains prohibited, but advocates are already preparing to sue, with Boyles vowing, "We will see the Trump Administration in court."