More than 1,600 critically imperiled species protected under the US Endangered Species Act (ESA) may face reduced federal protections following a new reinterpretation of the 1973 law by the Donald Trump administration.
A memo distributed on September 14 to Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) field offices by FWS director Brian Nesvik calls for a reinterpretation of what it means to “take” an endangered species. Under the ESA, “take” is defined as “to harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect, or to attempt to engage in any such conduct”.
The memo reinterprets the law to mean that harming or killing an endangered animal would no longer be considered illegal unless the action was specifically intended to cause harm or death. This effectively excludes economic activities such as logging, mining, and industrial development from the ESA’s prohibition on “take” when these activities foreseeably kill or injure wildlife without intentionally targeting them.
The reinterpretation has drawn criticism from environmental advocacy organisations. Brett Hartl, government affairs director for the Center for Biological Diversity, stated that the administration "wants to give wildlife killers a get out of jail free card." Earthjustice also commented, calling the government's new legal position "a prescription for extinction."