We're at a critical moment for America's endangered wildlife, and what happens next could decide which species survive.

For 50 years, the Endangered Species Act (ESA) has protected more than animals — it has also protected the places they live.

Since 1975, the regulatory definition of "harm" has covered habitat destruction that kills or injures endangered wildlife. The Supreme Court upheld it in 1995.

Now, that protection is gone. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWs) and NOAA Fisheries deleted the definition, and the rescission took effect September 14, 2026. So destroying the habitat a species depends on no longer counts as "harm" on its own, even when it kills or injures the animals that live there.

That same day, Trump’s USFWS issued a directive that goes even further. It says "take," the ESA's core prohibition, requires an intentional act aimed at a particular animal. In other words, under the directive, cutting down a tree that kills the bats roosting inside it isn't a "take," and neither is a ship striking a whale, unless the animal was the target.

The ESA is one of our strongest checks on the Trump administration's push to open wild places to industry and development. It's also crucial to protecting our planet, because the species it protects anchor ecosystems that clean our water, store carbon, and sustain us all.

This isn't just about one word. It's about grizzly bears, salmon, spotted owls, Florida panthers, whales, and every endangered species that depends on a place to survive.

More than 350,000 public comments were submitted on the rescission. The Trump team finalized it anyway.

We're calling on decision-makers to:

👉 Restore the regulatory definition of "harm" so habitat destruction that kills or injures endangered wildlife is treated as illegal.

👉 Withdraw the September 14 directive and make clear that foreseeable, unintentional killing of endangered wildlife is still prohibited.

👉 Pass legislation and use every tool available, including the Congressional Review Act, to overturn the rescission.

👉 Keep science, not short-term industry pressure, at the center of endangered species protections.

WHY THIS MATTERS

🌲 Habitat Loss – Habitat loss is a leading driver of extinction, and over one-third of  U.S. plants and animals are at risk.

🏗️ Fewer Guardrails – Companies seeking federal permits for projects that could kill or injure endangered species no longer have to account for habitat impacts.

🪓 Public Lands at Stake – Under the new interpretation, logging a forest or building a dam that kills endangered animals isn't illegal unless the animals are the target.

🌍 Our Planet – Endangered species are part of the ecosystems that keep our water clean and our climate stable. Losing them puts all of it at risk.

⚖️ 50 Years of Precedent – This definition stood for five decades and survived the Supreme Court. 

🏛️ Congress Can Act – A CRA resolution (S.J.Res. 204) has been introduced in the Senate. Plus, a bipartisan bill (H.R. 9901) in the House would nullify Trump’s rescission.

TAKE ACTION

📌 Sign this petition to demand the ESA's habitat protections be restored.

📌 Then SHARE, because endangered species ONLY stay protected when people speak up.