The Trump administration has finalized a rule removing habitat destruction from the definition of harm under the Endangered Species Act, a move that opens protected areas to development, logging, and mining.
The regulation, proposed in April 2025, allows project developers to impair habitats provided wildlife is not directly injured or killed. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said the change restores common sense and reduces regulatory burdens, arguing that federal agencies had abused the statute. The new rule also reduces permitting costs for energy producers, farms, and fishing interests, while Earthjustice warned the White House has granted the oil industry a blanket exemption in the Gulf of Mexico.
Earthjustice attorney Kristen Boyles said the group will challenge the rule in court. The rollback revisits protections affirmed by a 1995 Supreme Court ruling that upheld habitat safeguards for spotted owls.