The Biden administration stated on Friday that it will reverse many measures pertaining to endangered or vulnerable species that were implemented by the Trump administration.
The US Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service are conducting evaluations of five Endangered Species Act regulations that the Trump administration has completed, including critical habitat designations and rules outlining the scope of governmental activities on endangered species.
According to the Center for Biological Diversity, Trump-era rules allowed for the consideration of economic issues in species protection decisions, undermined vital habitat safeguards, and left vulnerable species without assured safeguards.
“The Fish and Wildlife Service is committed to working with diverse federal, tribal, state, and industry partners to not only protect and recover America’s imperilled wildlife but to ensure cornerstone laws like the Endangered Species Act are enforced,” U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service principal deputy director Martha Williams said Friday in response to the Biden administration’s announcement. The Endangered Species Act is assisting us in meeting the difficulties of the twenty-first century.”
For the first time in 3,000 years, Tasmanian devils have been born on mainland Australia.
Williams stated that the agency is looking forward to “continuing these conservation cooperation and ensuring that our efforts are completely open and inclusive.”
Officials have scaled down protections for the northern spotted owl, grey wolves, and other species under Trump, acts that Vice President Joe Biden had promised to examine.
The evaluations, which were announced on Friday, are expected to take months or perhaps years to complete.
The Center for Biological Diversity’s endangered species director, Noah Greenwald, stated, “We’re delighted to see that these horrible Trump administration policies that undercut crucial safeguards for endangered wildlife will be cancelled or altered.”
“We hope the Biden administration responds swiftly so that grizzly bears, whooping cranes, and other wildlife are not harmed any more,” he added.
