Kathrine Frich
Some specialists described the move as a “death sentence”
Nature conservation is a delicate balancing act.
When governments suddenly rewrite the rulebook, the impact on wild landscapes can be irreversible. Now, a major policy shift is sending shockwaves through the environmental community.
Tearing up the rules
President Donald Trump just dismantled a key legal shield for endangered animals in the United States.
Earlier this month, his administration changed how the federal government defines the word “harm” under the 1973 Endangered Species Act.
The new rule removes a longstanding interpretation that previously covered “any significant habitat modification or degradation that kills or injures wildlife,” according to HuffPost.
This major policy shift officially takes effect on September 14.
Defending the rollback
Trump celebrated the rollback on Truth Social this Tuesday, claiming his administration has returned the legislation to “how it was intended to be.”
He pointed a finger directly at environmentalists for aggressively stalling national development.
“For far too long, Radical Climate Activists attempted to hold our Great Country hostage by drastically and unreasonably expanding the intended scope of the Endangered Species Act,” he wrote.
Trump added that this was “complete and total regulatory overreach by unelected bureaucrats!”
Fighting back in court
He also complained that the American military could not train on specific plots of land simply to “protect a little rodent!”
These fiery comments and the sweeping policy change have already triggered a fierce legal backlash.
A large coalition of environmental groups, spearheaded by the legal organisation Earthjustice, recently filed lawsuits against the federal government to stop the changes.
The Swinomish Indian Tribal Community and the Squaxin Island Tribe joined the legal fight with their own separate cases, HuffPost reported.
Sounding the alarm
Conservation experts warn that the newly relaxed rules will invite the oil, gas, and logging industries to bulldoze their way into once-protected wilderness areas.
Some specialists described the move as a “death sentence” for vulnerable species that “desperately need our help.”
Critics flooded social media this week to loudly condemn the decision, with one user on X calling the rollback “comic book level evil.”
Another user expressed complete devastation over the president’s tone, asking, “Literally what the hell do ‘Conservatives’ conserve?!?”
Sources: HuffPost, Truth Social, X
