A quiet change to a single word in federal law could put some of eastern North Carolina's rarest wildlife, and the drinking water millions rely on, at serious risk.

The federal government has narrowed how the Endangered Species Act defines "harm" to threatened wildlife. Protection now only kicks in if an action directly kills, injures, or captures an animal, since habitat destruction no longer counts on its own. "The definition no longer includes habitat modification or destruction, meaning that more habitat is able to be modified or destroyed," said Pamlico-Tar Riverkeeper Katey Zimmerman, according to Public Radio East.

That shift puts species like the Neuse River waterdog, the Tar River spiny mussel, and the Carolina madtom in a tough spot. These species live only in eastern North Carolina's waterways, and their habitat can now be bulldozed, drained, or paved over without triggering federal review.

The danger doesn't stop at wildlife. Freshwater mussels like the Tar River spiny mussel filter and clean river water naturally. Losing them means losing a natural filtration system that protects drinking water and supports commercial fisheries, Zimmerman said.

Sound Rivers Executive Director Heather Deck says North Carolina's state water regulators can't fill this gap on their own, since state law limits how broadly they can weigh a permit's impact on local wildlife.

Under the new rule, a company can even argue its own projected lost profit outweighs the value of protecting critical habitat, Zimmerman said.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Department of the Interior have the power to reverse this change. Eastern North Carolina's rivers, and the rare species and clean water they support, shouldn't be sacrificed for corporate convenience.

Sign the petition to demand the Fish and Wildlife Service restore full habitat protections under the Endangered Species Act, before more of eastern North Carolina's waterways are put at risk.