19-05-2025
Trump admin faces key Endangered Species Act decisions
The Trump administration's shrunken Fish and Wildlife Service faces three high-profile Endangered Species Act decisions affecting grizzly bears and monarch butterflies as well as the meaning of one key word in the landmark environmental law.
All three issues have prompted robust debate in fast-closing public comment periods. What comes next could be some consequential ESA reversals.
The Biden administration proposed keeping grizzly bears listed as threatened under the ESA. More than 200,000 individuals weighed in by the end of a comment period last Friday. Many supported continued ESA protections for the iconic species, but ranchers and Western states urged delisting.
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The Biden administration also proposed listing the monarch butterfly as threatened. More than 148,000 individuals and organizations have opined in the comment period that ends at midnight Monday. As with the grizzly bears, many support protecting the monarch, while some rancher organizations and others urge otherwise.
