Help restore the Endangered Species Act

The Biden administration announced a comment period for its new Endangered Species Act regulations, but its current proposal fails to adequately protect endangered wildlife. Tell the administration to fully restore this critical environmental law. TAKE ACTION   Dear Friend, The Biden administration just moved closer to undoing the Trump administration’s unprecedented damage to the regulations that interpret the Endangered Species Act. For 50 years, the Act has served as the last line of defense for countless species and habitats. Today, it is our strongest tool for tackling the worsening biodiversity crisis, which is why the Biden administration must fix the rules that implement it. When the Trump administration began its attacks on the Endangered Species Act four years ago on behalf of special interests who stood to profit, Earthjustice fought back in court with a series of lawsuits. As the nation's premier environmental law organization, Earthjustice has used and defended the Endangered Species Act since its inception. Despite the broad support for undoing the Trump administration's damage, the Biden administration declined to do everything within its power to protect endangered wildlife. It left multiple loopholes from the Trump-era rollbacks in place, which will undoubtedly jeopardize future efforts to protect wildlife and habitat. This is unacceptable — the Biden administration promised a return to normalcy, yet these proposed rules do not fully undo the Trump administration’s damage. Tell the Biden administration to quickly and fully restore the Act’s regulations to their former strength. The Endangered Species Act is wildly popular and effective. It has prevented extinctions, recovered imperiled plants and animals, and protected the ecosystems on which they depend. Ninety-nine percent of species that have received protection under the Act — including bald eagles, Florida manatees, and gray wolves — have been spared from extinction. Fully undoing the damage the Trump administration inflicted upon the Endangered Species Act is necessary, but ultimately we need the Biden administration to commit to strengthening the Act. In the coming decades, a million of Earth’s species face the possibility of extinction due to climate change, pollution, and habitat loss. Even species that are not yet on the brink will face huge population declines. The biodiversity crisis means fewer pollinators for agriculture, depleted fisheries, and disappearing places like old-growth forests and wetlands that provide a long-term, low-cost source of clean air and water. We don’t have any more time to waste — tell the Biden administration to act and finally restore the Endangered Species Act regulations. TAKE ACTION     . Sincerely, Kristen Boyles Managing Attorney Northwest Office LEARN MORE   Earthjustice, 50 California Street, Suite 500, San Francisco, CA 94111 Photo Credits: The Mexican gray wolf (Canis lupus baileyi) — the lobo of Southwestern lore — is the most genetically distinct lineage of wolves in the Western Hemisphere, and one of the most endangered mammals in North America. (Nagel Photography / Shutterstock) © 2023