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The U.S. Departments of Interior and Commerce have finalized regulations to amend how the Endangered Species Act is interpreted and enforced. The new rules remove actionable protections for ‘threatened’ species, which are not in immediate danger of extinction (as endangered species are) but are likely to become endangered in the foreseeable future. They fail to consider extinction threats that result from the growing climate crisis. They also allow the federal agencies to consider economic impacts of protecting additional species and designating critical habitats for these species.
We are very concerned about how these rules impact nature across the country and here at home. At least 14 species in greater Chicago – including the Piping plover, Indiana bat, and Rusty patched bumblebee – have benefited from ESA protections. Severely weakening the ESA puts these species and so many others at enormous risk.
The rollbacks take our nation in the wrong direction. This will inevitably destroy critical habitat that Openlands and others are seeking to restore and protect with proposed laws in the balance like the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act. They undermine an investment of more than a billion dollars by states in our natural heritage.
It is unconscionable to dismantle the legislation that gave us back the bald eagle, grizzly bear and grey wolf, for no other apparent reason than corporate greed. The Endangered Species Act, the Clean Water Act and other environmental laws are a fundamental part of American culture and values. As a society and a nation, we decided not to sacrifice our personal health or the health of our planet for the sake of industry profit.
More importantly, Americans have learned over the last 50 years that we don’t have to sacrifice our environment for our businesses to be successful. It’s a false choice. We can and must support resilient and livable places, the wildlife and people who call these places home, and a healthy, thriving economy.
Using the form below, tell the Secretary of the Interior to reconsider these rollbacks to vital wildlife and environmental protections.
The U.S. Departments of Interior and Commerce have finalized regulations to amend how the Endangered Species Act is interpreted and enforced. The new rules remove actionable protections for ‘threatened’ species, which are not in immediate danger of extinction (as endangered species are) but are likely to become endangered in the foreseeable future. They fail to consider extinction threats that result from the growing climate crisis. They also allow the federal agencies to consider economic impacts of protecting additional species and designating critical habitats for these species.
We are very concerned about how these rules impact nature across the country and here at home. At least 14 species in greater Chicago – including the Piping plover, Indiana bat, and Rusty patched bumblebee – have benefitted from ESA protections. Severely weakening the ESA puts these species and so many others at enormous risk.
The rollbacks take our nation in the wrong direction. This will inevitably destroy critical habitat that Openlands and others are seeking to restore and protect with proposed laws in the balance like the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act. It would undermine an investment of more than a billion dollars by states in our natural heritage.
It is unconscionable to dismantle the legislation that gave us back the bald eagle, grizzly bear and grey wolf, for no other apparent reason than corporate greed. The Endangered Species Act, the Clean Water Act and other environmental laws are a fundamental part of American culture and values. As a society and a nation, we decided not to sacrifice our personal health or the health of our planet for the sake of industry profit.
More importantly, Americans have learned over the last 50 years that we don’t have to sacrifice our environment for our businesses to be successful. It’s a false choice. We can and must support resilient and livable places, the wildlife and people who call these places home, and a healthy, thriving economy.
Using the form below, tell the Secretary of the Interior to reconsider these rollbacks to vital wildlife and environmental protections.
Openlands advocates for the open space and the environment on all scales. Visit Openlands.org/advocacy to find other ways to speak up.