The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service have proposed four rules to return Endangered Species Act regulations to the framework in place during 2019 and 2020.
The proposals would reverse revisions finalized in 2024 under the Biden administration, which the agencies said expanded federal authority, created unnecessary complexity, and strayed from the statute's text.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said the changes restore the act's original purpose: protecting species through clear, consistent, and lawful standards while respecting the livelihoods of Americans who rely on land and resources.
"These revisions end years of legal confusion and regulatory overreach, delivering certainty to states, tribes, landowners, and businesses while ensuring conservation efforts remain grounded in sound science and common sense," Burgum said.
Fish and Wildlife Service Director Brian Nesvik added that the proposals advance science-based conservation that works alongside energy, agricultural, and infrastructure priorities.
"By restoring clarity and predictability, we are giving the regulated community confidence while keeping our focus on recovery outcomes, not paperwork," Nesvik said.
The four proposed rules cover listing decisions and critical habitat designations, interagency consultation procedures, protections for threatened species and the process for excluding areas from critical habitat based on economic or other impacts.
The revisions are said to reflect the Supreme Court's 2024 ruling that ended the practice of courts automatically deferring to agency interpretations of ambiguous laws, requiring the Endangered Species Act to be applied according to its plain statutory language.
They also implement executive orders directing agencies to remove regulatory barriers that hinder responsible resource development and economic growth while maintaining core conservation commitments.
Earthjustice criticized the Trump administration's proposed revisions, calling them an effort to eliminate critical habitat protection for vulnerable wildlife.
The organization said the changes would undermine a law that has successfully recovered 99% of listed species.
"Trump's proposed rule is a callous effort to steal habitat from endangered wildlife, ignoring common sense and common science," said Earthjustice attorney Kristen Boyles. "We'll do all that we can to ensure vulnerable wildlife continue to have a livable habitat and a chance at survival."
Earthjustice noted that more than 150,000 public comments were submitted in opposition during an earlier 2025 comment period on related habitat rules.
The group described the proposals as prioritizing industry interests over science-based conservation.
The proposals will be published in the Federal Register and open for public comment.
Jim Mishler ✉
Jim Mishler, a seasoned reporter, anchor and news director, has decades of experience covering crime, politics and environmental issues.
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