U.S. cancels automatic protections for imperiled animals as critics warn of extinctions

By — Matthew Brown, Associated Press Matthew Brown, Associated Press Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/u-s-cancels-automatic-protections-for-imperiled-animals-as-critics-warn-of-extinctions Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter U.S. cancels automatic protections for imperiled animals as critics warn of extinctions Nation Jul 18, 2026 2:43 PM EDT BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — The U.S. Interior Department on Friday canceled a rule meant to protect plants and animals that are determined to be threatened with extinction, the latest step by President Donald Trump's administration to dismantle key provisions of the landmark Endangered Species Act at the behest of industry. Instead of receiving automatic protections, imperiled species will need individualized protection plans once they are added to the threatened species list. That's a potentially lengthy process in which companies could seek exemptions for oil and gas drilling, mining and other development where those species live. Grow your mind Subscribe to our Science Newsletter to explore the wide worlds of science, health and technology. Opponents said it would make it harder to save wildlife that's awaiting federal protections and in danger of disappearing, such as monarch butterflies and alligator snapping turtles. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said in a statement that the Endangered Species Act had been used for too long "to stop almost any new project in America, driving up costs for families, weakening our competitiveness, and undermining our national security." "Success should be measured by species recovery and delisting, not by adding more species to the list," Burgum added. A second change finalized Friday requires officials to analyze economic impacts when deciding whether habitat is critical to a species' survival. Critics say it gives corporations an opportunity to put their thumb on the scale so that officials will allow development in those areas. "If you're exempting certain industries that cause habitat destruction, in many instances you'll be exempting the main threat to those species," said Noah Greenwald with the environmental group Center for Biological Diversity. Officials made similar changes during Trump's first term but they were reversed under former Democratic President Joe Biden. The rules that gave what some consider "blanket protections" to threatened species were first adopted for wildlife in 1975 and for plants in 1977. READ MORE: What to know about Rice's whale, a rare species in the way of Trump's plans for more Gulf drilling Two groups, the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and the Property and Environment Research Center, sued the Biden administration in 2024 after officials restored the blanket protections rule. They argued the rule unfairly imposed the same restrictions on landowners when a species' status improves from endangered, which is more dire, to threatened. That removed incentives