New rules put endangered species on the chopping block

We saved the bald eagle from extinction. The next endangered species might not be so lucky.

On Aug. 12, the Trump administration announced new changes meant to weaken the power of the federal  Endangered Species Act. The changes would The changes would weaken protections for species on the threatened list, make it easier to remove species from the list even when they may need further protection, weaken protections for species on the threatened list, and allow regulators to consider economic factors such as the potential loss of business revenue when deciding whether or not a species should be granted protection.

“We can’t put a price tag on endangered species protections,” said Stephanie Wein, PennEnvironment’s Clean Water and Conservation Advocate. “Some things are just more important than making a few dollars from more oil and gas.”

PennEnvironment and our national staff are collecting thousands of comments from the general public opposing this plan, working to garner media attention to this rollback, and lobbying against it in the halls of Congress.

Photo: The bald eagle is among the species that the Endangered Species Act allowed us to save from extinction. Credit: Mick Thompson via Flickr (CC BY-NC 2.0)

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