AI Summary

The Trump administration is finalizing two new regulations that weaken the Endangered Species Act’s implementation. One rule eliminates the blanket 4(d) provision, ending automatic ESA protections for newly listed “threatened” species against killing, injury and harassment. The other curtails the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s ability to designate critical habitat by limiting discretion to exclude areas based on non‑biological factors such as economic concerns. These actions follow a recent rescission of the ESA’s definition of “harm” and proposals to reduce protections for grizzly bears and the Canada lynx, collectively easing development priorities over wildlife conservation.

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