The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has proposed rolling back changes made to strengthen the Endangered Species Act (ESA) under former U.S. President Joe Biden, reverting parts of the law to the language used during Trump’s first term.
“This administration is restoring the Endangered Species Act to its original intent, protecting species through clear, consistent, and lawful standards that also respect the livelihoods of Americans who depend on our land and resources,” U.S. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum said in a release. “These revisions end years of legal confusion and regulatory overreach, delivering certainty to states, Tribes, landowners, and businesses while ensuring conservation efforts remain grounded in sound science and common sense.”
Conservation groups were quick to denounce the reversals, which they claim will drive many species closer to extinction.
“For decades, the vast majority of Americans have supported strong protections for our wildlife – from bald eagles to polar bears to Pacific Northwest salmon,” Earthjustice Attorney Kristen Boyles said in a release. “Trump’s attacks on the Endangered Species Act seriously misread the room. Most people are not going to allow the sacrifice of our natural world to a bunch of billionaires and corporate interests.”
The Trump administration’s move includes four proposed rules that would revert key ESA regulations to where they stood before the Biden administration. NOAA Fisheries worked with the Department of the Interior’s Fish and Wildlife Service on two of the proposals.
Advocates claim the changes are necessary to combat regulatory overreach.
“I applaud Secretary Burgum and the Trump administration for taking necessary action to restore the Endangered Species Act to its original intent. I’ve fought long and hard against ESA overreach and abuse, and these newly proposed rules are a critical step forward. They will bring much-needed clarity, rein in federal overreach, and provide certainty to states, landowners, and Tribal communities while empowering state and local wildlife managers to continue protecting truly endangered species and habitat,” U.S. Representative Mike Simpson (R-Idaho) said in a release.
Of the four proposals, the most notable for fisheries conservationists are the changes to determining critical habitat. The Trump administration wants those decisions to be “based on the best scientific and commercial data available while allowing transparent consideration of economic impacts.” According to the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD), the ESA has traditionally barred regulators from considering economic impacts in making those decisions.
“Trump’s proposals are a death sentence for wolverines, monarch butterflies, Florida manatees, and so many other animals and plants that desperately need our help,” CBD Deputy Director of Government Affairs Stephanie Kurose said in a release. “We assumed Trump would attack wildlife again, but this dumpster fire of a plan is beyond cruel. Americans overwhelmingly support the Endangered Species Act and want it strengthened, not sledgehammered. We’ve fought this before, and we’ll fight it again.”
Another of the proposed rule changes would roll back changes that expanded what “reasonable and prudent measures” regulators could take to offset incidental take and expanded the definition of “effects of the action” and “environmental baseline” under the ESA. The Trump administration has claimed that the change is necessary due to the U.S. Supreme Court’s opinion in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, a recent ruling that theoretically limits regulatory agencies' discretion in interpreting the law.
The Department of the Interior also argued that the court case requires it to eliminate the “blanket rule” option and, instead, issue ESA rules specific to each threatened species listed under the law.
“This approach reflects the single best reading of the statute under Loper Bright and ensures that protections are necessary and advisable to conserve each species without imposing unnecessary restrictions on others,” the department stated. “It also aligns service policy with the National Marine Fisheries Service’s longstanding species-specific approach.”
The administration also wants to be able to use economic and national security justifications to exclude areas from critical habitat designations.
“These actions reaffirm our commitment to science-based conservation that works hand in hand with America’s energy, agricultural, and infrastructure priorities,” Fish and Wildlife Service Director Brian Nesvik said in a release. “By restoring clarity and predictability, we are giving the regulated community confidence while keeping our focus on recovery outcomes, not paperwork.”
Starting 21 November, the public has 30 days to provide comments on the proposed rules.
Trump has been keen on making substantial changes to the way the government carries out the ESA and marine mammal protections in his second term. The administration proposed transferring NOAA Fisheries’ administration of the ESA and the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) over to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services in its fiscal year 2026 budget proposal, but lawmakers rejected the idea as coming too late in the budget process.
ESA protections have been a particularly significant source of friction for salmon fisheries in the Pacific Northwest.
Nearly 30 species of Pacific salmon and steelhead trout are listed under the ESA, and conservation groups have petitioned NOAA Fisheries to protect additional salmon runs under the law.
Earlier this year, a federal court ruled that NOAA Fisheries needed to make a determination on Oregon Coast and Southern Oregon/Northern California coastal Chinook by 3 November 2025 and a separate determination on Washington coast spring-run Chinook by 2 January 2026. Those deadlines were set in response to lawsuits filed by CBD, the Native Fish Society, and Umpqua Watersheds, which first petitioned the government for ESA protections in 2022. While NOAA Fisheries is technically required to issue determinations within 12 months, it frequently misses those deadlines.
Wild Fish Conservancy has also sought salmon protections under the ESA, petitioning NOAA Fisheries to list Alaskan Chinook salmon under the law. While the agency acknowledged those protections might be warranted, it again missed its 12-month deadline for issuing a determination, forcing the group to sue.
“It should not take a lawsuit to make the federal government uphold its legal responsibility, but with the crisis facing Alaskan Chinook, we are out of time and options,” Wild Fish Conservancy Executive Director Emma Helverson said. “The Endangered Species Act sets clear deadlines for a reason – to evaluate the risk of extinction and trigger action while recovery is still possible. By ignoring those deadlines, NOAA isn’t just breaking the law, it’s perpetuating the collapse of Alaskan Chinook and threatening the ecosystems and communities that depend on them.”
However, conservationists’ attempts to protect imperiled or dwindling salmon stocks haven’t always been welcomed by the commercial fishers who rely on them for income. Groups like the Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association (ALFA) were highly critical of Wild Fish Conservancy’s attempt to use the ESA and defended NOAA Fisheries’ delays in making ESA determinations.
“The National Marine Fisheries Service is conducting a thorough and science-based status review of Alaska’s salmon stocks in response to the ESA petition filed by this litigious group,” ALFA Executive Director Linda Behnken said in a statement. “Since WFC does not work in Alaska, it may not be aware that Alaska is exceptionally large with over 19,000 rivers or streams that support salmon. An accurate ESA status review takes time – especially when NMFS is dealing with budget cuts and staff reductions imposed by the current administration. Filing yet another lawsuit will only divert NMFS staff from working on the status review.”
Wild Fish Conservancy has also used the ESA to try to stop salmon hatchery operations, which it claims threatens wild salmon populations as well as orcas and steelhead trout.
