Enforcement of Endangered Species Act is weakened

WASHINGTON >> The Trump administration moved on Monday to weaken enforcement of the 45-year-old Endangered Species Act, ordering changes that critics said will speed the loss of animals and plants at a time of record global extinctions.

The action, which expands the administration’s rewrite of U.S. environmental laws, is the latest that targets protections. Two states — California and Massachusetts, frequent foes of President Donald Trump’s environmental rollbacks — promised lawsuits to try to block the changes in the law. So did some conservation groups.

Pushing back, Interior Secretary David Bernhardt and other administration officials contend the changes improve efficiency of oversight.

“The best way to uphold the Endangered Species Act is to do everything we can to ensure it remains effective in achieving its ultimate goal — recovery of our rarest species,” he said