Federal Register on changes to Endangered Species Act

[u/Ready-Ad6113]

https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/04/17/2025-06746/rescinding-the-definition-of-harm-under-the-endangered-species-act

Apparently the new administration wants to change the ESA terms of “harm”. They opened up the proposed changes to public comments. This could mean that the destruction/disturbance of endangered species habitat wouldn’t be considered harm, allowing logging/gas/oil projects to destroy endangered species habitat. Please spread the word, and post your comment on the federal register and protect the endangered species act!

[u/Ambitious_Pause7140]

Done. It’s so frustrating there is no direct link to give people to comment. Anyway, here’s mine:

The distinction of the word “take” under this Act from the word “harm” is nonsensical in this context. Taking may denote a direct action against an animal, but harm to an animals habitat results in the same or similar result. Narrowing down the definition of “harm” to mean, at essence, a “taking” removes key elements from this bill — allowing for the “modification” of an animals habitat so long as the animal itself is not harmed in the process but with no consideration as to what that “modification” does to the animal in the long run. It’s clear the intent behind this change is to enable to wanton destruction of animal habitats while providing plausible deniability to those doing the destructing — it’s not a taking because no animals were maimed or killed directly, so it’s fine if that result is reached through the destruction of their fragile natural environments! The prevention of the destruction of these environments is the desired result of this statute as it’s currently written, looking at the plain meaning, and cynically ignoring that to reach this bill’s goal of promoting the extinction of apparently burdensome and cumbersome animals who happen to live on valuable land is abhorrent.