The Trump Administration Aims to Gut Critical Habitat Protections for Endangered Species

Earthjustice criticizes a proposal by the Trump administration to rescind regulations under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) that prohibit the modification or degradation of critical habitats for endangered species.

• On April 17, the Trump administration proposed to rescind the Endangered Species Act (ESA) regulation that prohibits harm to endangered species habitat, claiming the regulation misreads the Act.
• Since the 1970s, ESA implementing regulations have defined prohibited harm to include significant habitat modification or degradation that results in the death or injury of wildlife.
• The Trump administration's efforts to undermine endangered species protections include the potential use of a government committee known as the 'God Squad' to waive protections in specific circumstances.
• The Trump administration's Interior Secretary has suggested that endangered-species protections might be unnecessary due to the possibility of recreating species facsimiles in laboratories.

APA

Wheeler, P. (2025). The Trump Administration Aims to Gut Critical Habitat Protections for Endangered Species. Earthjustice. https://earthjustice.org/experts/drew-caputo/the-trump-administration-aims-to-gut-critical-habitat-protections-for-endangered-species

Chicago

Wheeler, Perry. The Trump Administration Aims to Gut Critical Habitat Protections for Endangered Species. Earthjustice, 2025. https://earthjustice.org/experts/drew-caputo/the-trump-administration-aims-to-gut-critical-habitat-protections-for-endangered-species.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Wheeler |first1=Perry |title=The Trump Administration Aims to Gut Critical Habitat Protections for Endangered Species |publisher=Earthjustice |date=5 May 2025 |url=https://earthjustice.org/experts/drew-caputo/the-trump-administration-aims-to-gut-critical-habitat-protections-for-endangered-species |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{wheeler2025trump, author = {Wheeler, Perry}, title = {{The Trump Administration Aims to Gut Critical Habitat Protections for Endangered Species}}, publisher = {Earthjustice}, year = {2025}, month = may, url = {https://earthjustice.org/experts/drew-caputo/the-trump-administration-aims-to-gut-critical-habitat-protections-for-endangered-species}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }