A group of conservation organizations notified the federal government Tuesday of plans to challenge changes to the Endangered Species Act that could block efforts to designate the Florida manatee and other species as "threatened."
“These latest attacks, which strip threatened species of protections and prioritize industry interests over science, will further risk sending our imperiled plants and animals toward extinction,” Earthjustice senior attorney Elizabeth Forsyth stated.
Earthjustice filed its notice of intent to sue on behalf of the Sierra Club, National Parks Conservation Association, Conservation Council of Hawaii WildEarth Guardians, and Humane World for Animals.
Last Friday, the Department of the Interior’s U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced “necessary revisions” to the Endangered Species Act intended to “strengthen American energy independence" and “improve regulatory predictability.”
One change eliminates the “burdensome ‘blanket rule’ option under section 4(d)” for threatened species the department claimed was created by the Biden Administration and set “a default for all ‘threatened’ species that incorrectly treated them as ‘endangered.’”
The second change involves making the “critical habitat” designation process consider “economic, national security and other relevant impacts.”
“For too long, the Endangered Species Act has been weaponized to stop almost any new project in America, driving up costs for families, weakening our competitiveness, and undermining our national security,” Interior Secretary Doug Burgum stated in a release. “At the same time, results have fallen short. Nearly 97 percent of species ever placed on the list remain there today. Success should be measured by species recovery and delisting, not by adding more species to the list.”
Earthjustice claimed the rule changes could leave species such as Florida manatee, Pygmy rabbit, Aztec Gilia, and Clover’s Cactus unprotected for years and gives “outsize weight” to economic considerations when decisions are made to protect endangered species and critical habitat.
