Burgum: Rule restores original intent of Endangered Species Act
The Trump administration on Friday finalized a rule that narrows the definition of “harm” under the 1973 Endangered Species Act, a change that will permit oil drilling, mining and logging on critical wildlife habitats as long as the animals themselves are not killed or hurt. For decades, the federal government had defined harm broadly to include encroachments on the places where threatened and endangered animals live. The new rule eliminates that habitat-level protection.
The rule was first proposed in April 2025 and had been fought by environmental groups, who said it would open the door to habitat destruction and could cause some species to go extinct. Industry representatives and their Republican allies have long argued that the landmark law is applied too broadly, to the detriment of economic growth.
Administration officials said they were restoring the law to its original intent, pointing to a 2024 Supreme Court decision that limited the authority of federal agencies to interpret environmental statutes passed by Congress. “For years, federal agencies abused the ESA to obstruct lawful land use and burden American families and businesses,” Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said in a statement.
Aaron Weiss, executive director of the Center for Western Priorities, said the change was “one of the most horrific attempts to harm wildlife in American history and a gift to the oil barons and foreign mining companies.”
The Endangered Species Act is credited with bringing back iconic animals including the bald eagle, the American alligator and the California condor from the brink of extinction. The rule is the latest in a series of changes to wildlife protections under the Trump administration, which had also rolled back provisions during his first term; those were reversed under President Joe Biden.