The Trump administration has finalized a rule narrowing the Endangered Species Act's definition of "harm". It eliminates habitat destruction as a prohibited action unless it directly kills or injures a protected species.
Conservationists warn the move weakens a 1973 law credited with aiding the recovery of species like the Endangered Whooping Crane, which grew from 21 birds in the 1940s to over 690 today. The International Crane Foundation, which recently acquired a 1,150-acre sanctuary to protect vital migratory corridors, warned that removing habitat protections threatens to reverse decades of conservation progress. "Whooping Cranes are living proof that the Endangered Species Act works," said Dr. Rich Beilfuss, President & CEO of the International Crane Foundation. "This species was on the very brink of extinction — down to just a handful of birds — when the ESA became law. It is the protection of habitat, as much as protection of the birds themselves, that has allowed the population to grow from fewer than 50 to more than 500 today."
Under the new rule, habitat destruction alone is no longer considered unlawful harm unless a protected animal is directly injured or killed. "You cannot protect a species while allowing the destruction of the only places it can live," said Dr. Rich Beilfuss, President and CEO of the International Crane Foundation.
"We are deeply concerned that this rule strips away a tool that has been essential not only to the Whooping Crane's recovery, but to the recovery of hundreds of other species across the country," Beilfuss said. "The International Crane Foundation will continue to stand with the scientific and conservation community in defense of the habitat protections that make species recovery possible, and we urge decision-makers to reconsider a rule that threatens fifty years of hard-won progress."
In the 1940s, only 21 Whooping Cranes remained in the wild due to unregulated hunting and massive habitat loss. Today, there are more than 690 wild Whooping Cranes, largely due to these vital legal protections and reintroduction efforts, such as those led by the Foundation. However, the species remains endangered and still needs significant help and legal protections.
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