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States, Conservationists to Sue to Stop Changes to Endangered Species Act

VOA News

   At least 10 state attorneys general say they will join conservation
   groups in suing the Trump administration from making drastic changes to
   the U.S. Endangered Species Act.

   U.S. officials have announced a revision of the nearly 50-year-old set
   of laws that environmentalists credit with saving numerous animals,
   plants and other species from extinction.

   About 1,600 species are currently protected by the act and the
   administration says streamlining regulations is the best way to ensure
   those animals stay protected.

   "The revisions finalized with this rule-making fit squarely within the
   president's mandate of easing the regulatory burden on the American
   public without sacrificing our species' protection and recovery goals,"
   Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said.

   The proposed changes include considering the economic cost when
   deciding to save a species from extinction. The law currently says the
   cost to logging or oil interests will have no bearing on whether an
   animal, bird, or other species deserves protection.

   The revised act would also end blanket protection for a species listed
   as threatened -- a designation that is one step away from declaring an
   animal population as endangered -- and reduce some wildlife habitat.

   Conservation and wildlife groups took little time in denouncing the
   changes, calling them President Donald Trump's gift to logging,
   ranching, and oil industries.

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