Attorneys general sue over changes to Endangered Species Act

Nearly two dozen state attorneys general, led by California and Washington, sued the Trump administration over three rule changes to the Endangered Species Act finalized by Fish and Wildlife and the National Marine Fisheries Service. The changes narrow the definition of 'harm' to species, let agencies exclude habitat from protection based on third-party costs, and repeal automatic protections for newly listed threatened species in favor of case-by-case rules with no deadline.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta called the harm-rule change 'illegal, unscientific and contrary to common sense' and said the administration offered no scientific backing for the habitat exclusion change or reason for the 4(d) rule repeal. California alone has over 300 species covered by the act, including the Western bumblebee and blue whale.

Washington Attorney General Nick Brown called the Endangered Species Act a bipartisan monument to public wisdom, arguing the administration is now degrading the very habitats and definitions that made it work. The lawsuits ask a federal judge in the Northern District of California to vacate all three rules.

The full dispatch is available from the source below.