Save the Endangered Species Act
📰 NEWS: Federal Government Moves to Gut the Endangered Species Act — Wolves and Wildlife at Risk
Click the link here to make your voice heard to support the endangered species act. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service have announced a proposed rule that would remove habitat destruction from the definition of “harm” under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) — a decision that could unravel decades of progress in wildlife conservation.
This proposed rollback would no longer consider destruction of critical habitat as a form of harm to endangered species — even if it directly results in population decline. Conservationists across the country are calling this move an unprecedented attack on one of the most effective environmental protection laws in U.S. history.
❗ What This Means
Since the ESA’s passage in 1973, the term “harm” has included not only direct violence toward a species — such as hunting or harassment — but also indirect impacts, like destroying the habitat a species needs to survive.
That interpretation was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1995 (Babbitt v. Sweet Home Chapter), where justices affirmed that habitat destruction does constitute harm to protected species. This definition has been essential in preventing extinction by regulating developments that could wipe out ecosystems.
Now, that definition is under threat.
According to the new proposal published in the Federal Register on April 17, 2025, the federal agencies argue that the current interpretation is too broad, and that only direct physical harm — not habitat modification — should be regulated.
🐺 Why Wolves Are in Danger
This change has massive implications for wolves. While wolf populations have made fragile recoveries in some regions, they still face steep threats from habitat fragmentation, resource extraction, and human encroachment.
Removing habitat protections would:
Allow logging, mining, and construction in sensitive wolf territory without legal consequence
Undermine reintroduction efforts by making recovery zones legally vulnerable
Strip protections from denning, breeding, and hunting grounds wolves need to survive
As we fight for wolves to be relisted under the ESA and protected across their historic range, this rule change could make their protection nearly impossible — even if they are listed as endangered.
🧠 Did You Know?
80% of ESA-listed species are threatened primarily by habitat loss
The ESA has saved 99% of species on its list from extinction
Most wolves in the U.S. remain absent from their former territory, due to habitat loss and persecution
🛑 Take Action Now
This rule is not yet final — but it’s moving fast. Public comments are being accepted now, and your voice can help stop this.
👉 Click here to submit your comment and demand that habitat destruction remain legally recognized as harm under the ESA.
Protecting wolves means protecting the wild places they call home. We must stand against this blatant attack on our most vital environmental law.