The Trump administration just made it legal to destroy the homes of endangered wildlife.

On Friday, the Department of the Interior finalized a rollback of the Endangered Species Act, changing the definition of "harm" so that wiping out protected habitat is no longer against the law.

For 50 years, that protection was the reason species like the California condor came back from the brink. In the 1980s, only 27 condors remained. Thanks to habitat protections under the Endangered Species Act, hundreds now soar over California skies. Under this new rule, the logging and development that nearly destroyed them is once again allowed.

California has nearly 300 species protected under the Endangered Species Act — more than any other state. Gray wolves, sea otters, desert tortoises, humpback whales, northern spotted owls, and green sea turtles are now all exposed to drilling, mining, and development in the habitats they depend on to survive. Earthjustice estimates that expanded oil drilling alone could threaten five marine species, including humpback whales and leatherback sea turtles.

Environmental groups are already planning legal challenges. But lawsuits take time, and species don't wait. Sign this petition to demand Congress restore the Endangered Species Act's full definition of "harm" before California's wildlife pays the price.