As Congress prepares to reopen the government after the US’s longest shutdown in history, crucial wildlife and wild habitat protections are on the line.
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The Endangered Species Act (ESA) and the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) are two flagship US conservation and animal protection laws. Collectively, these laws protect more than 2,500 species from varying harms and can be credited with the recovery of multiple imperiled species. But new proposals threaten to gut these two vital laws, exposing vulnerable animals to possible injury or death and pushing them closer to extinction.
Proposals currently under consideration in Congress include:
- Stripping scientific rigor from Endangered Species Act decisions. It is proposed that any information provided by state and local authorities, as well as tribal communities, supporting or opposing the listing and delisting of species would be automatically deemed the most relevant data available; even if it is false. This will prevent expert organizations like Born Free USA, that provide well-researched, science-based feedback on listing decisions, from having our voices heard.
- Delisting gray wolves across the country. Wolves have long been targeted by those wishing to increase hunting of this important species, with their status under the Endangered Species Act being unstable as populations have been listed and delisted over time. These new proposals, once again, place gray wolves in the crosshairs.
- Delisting grizzly bears in the greater Yellowstone ecosystem. If successful, this proposal will see increased hunting of grizzly bears in Yellowstone National Park and surrounding areas. Reintroduction efforts for grizzlies would also be blocked.
- Reduced protections for marine mammal species. Cetaceans – whale, dolphin, and porpoise species – would have protections regarding “incidental take” removed. Put simply, these changes would significantly reduce controls on permissible levels of deaths of these species resulting from unintentional – but predictable – acts, such as fishing “bycatch” and/or deaths caused by other activities such as military use of explosives at sea, among other practices.
- Reduced protections for sea otters and polar bears. Like cetaceans, sea otters and polar bears will become victims of increased “incidental take” as rules are relaxed. This will lead to more deaths and less accountability.
- Increased danger for manatees. Manatees, whose leading cause of recorded death is from boat strikes, will be made more vulnerable as control of boat access to their natural ranges is relaxed. This will inevitably lead to increased injury and death. Even without the rule change, most adult manatees carry scars from boat strikes.
- Reduced funding for ESA enforcement. While wolverines were listed on the Endangered Species Act in 2023, this positive move is set to lose its efficacy as funding for enforcement is stripped.
These are just some of the alarming changes being proposed, and their implications are far-reaching and devastating. They cannot be allowed to succeed.
Together, we must make our voices heard in Congress to ensure that our precious wildlife continues to receive vital protection and that measures are implemented to increase, not reduce, chances of survival.
