EPA to open habitats of endangered species to logging and mining

Manatees touch snouts in the waters of the Three Sisters Springs wildlife refuge in Crystal River, Florida, on 4 February 2026. Photograph: Zoraida Diaz/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock View image in fullscreen Manatees touch snouts in the waters of the Three Sisters Springs wildlife refuge in Crystal River, Florida, on 4 February 2026. Photograph: Zoraida Diaz/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock EPA to open habitats of endangered species to logging and mining Habitat destruction strongest driver of species loss, with legislation keeping 99% of listed species from going extinct The Trump administration repealed a crucial part of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) on Friday, finalizing a new rule that will open habitats of imperiled wildlife to development, logging, mining and other uses. For the last 50 years, the landmark environmental law included a broader understanding of the word “harm”, which ensured that not just the plants and animals themselves were protected but also the places that are critical to their survival. The inclusion of habitat in the “harm” definition was upheld by the supreme court in 1995, which ruled in support of old-growth forest protections relied on by endangered spotted owls. But despite widespread public support for a strong ESA – and hundreds of thousands of public comments submitted opposing the change – the Department of the Interior and Department of Commerce reframed the definition as “regulatory intrusion that interfered with private property rights” and announced it would be rescinded. Habitat destruction is considered the strongest driver of species loss . The legislation has helped safeguard more than 1,700 species and their habitats, preventing 99% of those listed from going extinct, most famously the bald eagle. Experts fear the move could cause catastrophic damage to species already close to the brink. “For the first time ever, a presidential administration now claims that species protected by the Endangered Species Act shouldn’t be safe from habitat modification that destroys where they live, raise their young, or search for food,” Earthjustice attorney Kristen Boyles said in a statement. Stephanie Kurose, deputy director of government affairs at the Center for Biological Diversity, said the plan would be “a death sentence for wolverines, monarch butterflies, Florida manatees and so many other animals and plants that desperately need our help”, when the proposal was first released last year. The erosion in regulations comes amid an extinction emergency , as the climate crisis adds new challenges to recovery. Roughly 1m species are threatened with extinction, according to a 2019 assessment from the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), including roughly 40% of amphibians, and a third of reef-forming corals, marine mammals and sharks. Insects, considered the bedrock of biodiversity and the foundation of most ecosystems on Earth, are in rapid decline. About 80% of ins