Trump proposal would weaken 45-year-old Endangered Species Act

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s administration unveiled a proposal Thursday that would strip the Endangered Species Act of key provisions, a move that conservationists say would weaken a law enacted 45 years ago to keep plants and animals from going extinct.

The proposal, announced jointly by the Interior and Commerce departments, which are charged with protecting endangered wildlife, would end the practice of extending similar protections to species listed as either endangered or threatened. If the proposal is approved, likely by year’s end, protections for threatened plants and animals will be made case by case.

In another rollback, the administration wants the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to strike language that guides officials to ignore economic impacts when determining how wildlife should be protected.

“We propose to remove the phrase ‘without reference to possible economic or other impacts of such determination’ … to more closely align with the statutory language,” the proposed rule says. “The act requires the secretary to make determinations based ‘solely on the … the best scientific and commercial data.’ ”

Conservationists said their fears have been realized.

“These regulations are the heart of how the Endangered Species Act is implemented. Imperiled species depend on them for their very lives,” said Jamie Rappaport Clark, director of the Fish and Wildlife Service under President Bill Clinton and now president and chief executive of Defenders of Wildlife, a nonprofit advocacy group.

“Unfortunately, the sweeping changes being proposed by the Trump administration … would undercut the effectiveness of the ESA and put species at risk of extinction,” Clark said. “The signal being sent by the Trump administration is clear: Protecting America’s wildlife and wild lands is simply not on their agenda.”

Interior and Commerce officials said the Endangered Species Act proposal would be published in the Federal Register “in coming days.” The public can submit comments on a government website within 60 days after publication.