Don’t Roll Back Endangered Species Act Protections for Threatened Species!

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According to a recently leaked proposal, the Trump Administration’s Interior Department is attempting to rescind the longstanding regulations by which full protections given to endangered species are extended to threatened animals, increasing the risk of extinction for dozens of species. 

Rolling back this “blanket rule” would mean that future species listed as threatened wouldn’t be automatically protected under the Endangered Species Act.

The consequences of this would be immense. Under the existing 40-year-old regulations, threatened species have “take” protections, preventing humans from hunting and capturing them, or destroying habitats through development or logging. Loss of the blanket rule would eliminate take protections.

It would also be a bureaucratic nightmare. There’s currently a backlog of 500 species awaiting protection, and US Fish and Wildlife takes an average of 12 years to list species. Taking away automatic protections and requiring the USFW define prohibited activities for each single listing would lead to even more delays. Delays mean death: at least 47 species have already gone extinct waiting for protections. 

Take action to stop Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke from going forward with this proposal. Add your name now to help save threatened species!

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