The Trump administration has finalized a rule that repeals critical habitat protections under the Endangered Species Act, a move that opens protected wildlife areas to development, logging, and mining.
The policy change alters a 50-year-old provision that expanded the definition of "harm" to safeguard environments essential for species survival, a standard upheld by the Supreme Court in 1995.
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Environmental advocates strongly oppose the decision, citing data that habitat loss is the primary driver of extinction, while the law historically saved 99% of listed species.
Kristen Boyles, an attorney at Earthjustice, criticized the change as unprecedented and harmful to wildlife survival.
"For the first time ever, a presidential administration now claims that species protected by the Endangered Species Act shouldn't be safe from habitat modification that destroys where they live, raise their young, or search for food," Boyles said.
Boyles stated that the administration lacks valid backing for the rollback.
"Let's be clear: there is no support for the Trump Administration's rule – no scientific support, no legal support, no public support," she added.
The legal advocacy group indicated it will challenge the regulation in court.
"We will see the Trump Administration in court," Boyles said.
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Stephanie Kurose, deputy director of government affairs at the Center for Biological Diversity, previously warned the proposal would be a "death sentence for wolverines, monarch butterflies, Florida manatees and so many other animals and plants that desperately need our help."
In contrast, administration officials argued the revisions align with the law's original intent and reduce burdens on American businesses.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said the previous protections "obstruct lawful land use and burden American families and businesses."
Burgum claimed the long-standing rules created unnecessary legal hurdles, turning "routine activity into a regulatory trap."
Federal departments had framed the habitat rules as a "regulatory intrusion that interfered with private property rights."
Despite the rollback, officials said "actions that directly injure or kill listed wildlife will continue to be prohibited."
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The administration also established a federal group to find ways to bypass rules creating "obstacles to domestic energy infrastructure."
