SC Sues Against Trump’s Endangered Species Act Rollback

WASHINGTON, D.C.– Environmental and animal protection groups today sued the Trump administration over its new regulations that dramatically weaken the Endangered Species Act. Earthjustice filed the lawsuit on behalf of Center for Biological Diversity, Defenders of Wildlife, Sierra Club, Natural Resources Defense Council, National Parks Conservation Association, WildEarth Guardians, and the Humane Society of the United States.

“We are going to court to prevent the Trump Administration from creating an open season for the wildlife that need protection the most. The new rule reverses the entire purpose of the Endangered Species Act. We can see developers and fossil fuel companies paving over threatened and endangered species habitat, essentially wiping out populations. The ESA has worked. Almost 99% of the species protected under the act, like the Bald Eagle, the Grizzly Bear, the Humpback whale and more have not gone extinct. Trump’s rollbacks to the rule is a serious problem, especially because of the importance of biodiversity for the planet and here in New Jersey. In New Jersey, we are the northern end of the important species,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “We are standing up to Trump’s war on endangered species so that we can protect our ecosystem for this generation and generations to come.”

Today’s lawsuit makes three claims against the Trump administration’s new rules: 1)The Trump administration failed to publicly disclose and analyze the harms and impacts of these rules, in violation of the National Environmental Policy Act; 2) The administration inserted new changes into the final rules that were never made public and not subject to public comment, cutting the American people out of the decision-making process. 3) The administration violated the language and purpose of the Endangered Species Act by unreasonably changing requirements for compliance with Section 7, which requires federal agencies to ensure that actions they authorize, fund, or carry out do not jeopardize the existence of any species listed, or destroy or adversely modify designated critical habitat of any listed species.

“Trump’s new ESA rules is a green light for polluters and developers to destroy critical wildlife habitats. It minimizes accountability, transparency, and oversight for projects carried out by the federal government or private companies that could impact engendered and threatened species. What’s even worse is that the rule closes the door on public input,” said Tittel. “We need to ensure the ESA is not dismantled by Trump. It is especially important  for New Jersey because we use the ESA as a critical tool to protect threatened and endangered habitats and prevent fossil fuel infrastructure and other developments including dams, roads, and more from destroying our environment.”

U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary David Bernhardt is a former lobbyist for oil and gas companies, big agriculture and other special interests. Bernhardt oversaw the rollbacks to this critical conservation law.

“Our species are declining at a rapid pace and we will not let Trump and his Fossil Fools in the White House make it any worse. We must protect our biodiversity for the planet and for New Jersey. States should also be doing more to protect its species. New Jersey especially must step because our laws do not protect habitat or breeding areas of endangered species. If New Jersey wants to build a green wall around Trump, we need to strengthen the laws he has set out to rollback,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club.