Interior Department cancels automatic protections for threatened species

Threatened species to require individualized protection plans

The U.S. Interior Department on Friday canceled a rule that for years had automatically extended Endangered Species Act protections to plants and animals determined to be threatened with extinction, according to the Associated Press. Instead of receiving automatic protections, imperiled species will now need individualized protection plans, the AP reported.

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said in a statement that the Endangered Species Act had been used for too long “to stop almost any new project in America, driving up costs for families, weakening our competitiveness, and undermining our national security.” Burgum added that “success should be measured by species recovery and delisting, not by adding more species to the list.”

Opponents said the rule would make it harder to save wildlife awaiting federal protections and in danger of disappearing, such as monarch butterflies and alligator snapping turtles.

The AP reported the action is the latest step by the Trump administration to dismantle key provisions of the Endangered Species Act at the behest of industry.