Federal Judge Restores Endangered Species Act Protections Weakened by Trump Administration

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On July 5, California U.S. District Judge Jon Tigar restored regulatory protections to hundreds of species through the Endangered Species Act by vacating weakening changes made to the legislation during Donald Trump's presidency.

According to a release from the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), the ruling comes after numerous wildlife conservation organizations — spearheaded by nonprofit Earthjustice — sued the Biden administration to reverse the Trump-era changes. The judge's decision to restore the protections is a victory for environmental and conservation groups seeking to protect endangered species.

In 2019, the Trump administration altered how the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) characterized species qualifying for protection under the Endangered Species Act — adding economic factors as part of the classification process. The administration's revisions also included removing protections from "threatened" species, one category away from "endangered," per HSUS.

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"The Trump rules threatened to upend decades of clarity and protections for hundreds of species that have benefited from the established policy," the animal welfare nonprofit shared in its release, concluding that the court's decision is "a win for wildlife protection and conservation."

Earthjustice attorney Kristen Boyles added in a statement, "the Court spoke for species desperately in need of comprehensive federal protections without compromise."

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Similarly, Mike Senatore, vice president of conservation law for Defenders of Wildlife, said, "today brought a key piece of Trump's attack on imperiled species and the Endangered Species Act to an end."

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Passed in 1973, the Endangered Species Act has been credited with removing the bald eagle from the "endangered" list and subsequent "threatened" categorization. The legislation also aided the reintroduction of gray wolves to Yellowstone National Park and increased the number of humpback whales.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, "there are over 1,300 endangered or threatened species in the United States today." Endangered species include a range of animals, such as Florida panthers, dusky gopher frogs, and Mitchell's Satyr butterflies.