ABOVE: Changes to the enforcement of the law could be devastating for species such as the wolverine, according to environmentalists.
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Yesterday (August 12), President Donald Trump’s administration announced changes to the way the Endangered Species Act will be enforced, making it easier to take species off of the endangered list and weakening safeguards for protected species.
The Endangered Species Act is a landmark law passed in 1973 and currently aims to protect 1,600 plants and animals from extinction. Success stories of enforcing the law include saving the gray whale, the grizzly bear, and the bald eagle—the national emblem of the United States.
The new enforcement guidelines curb the law’s ability to protect species by allowing regulators to do economic assessments—for example, estimating lost revenue of developing a critical habitat—when deciding whether or not to protect a species. The guidelines will also make it more difficult to account for ...
