Earthjustice Responds to Radical New Trump Administration Memo that Sanctions Killing of Endangered Species

San Francisco —

A report published yesterday in the New York Times reveals that an internal memo signed by Brian Nesvik, director of the Fish and Wildlife Service, seeks to dramatically reinterpret the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in a way that would subvert the very purpose of the law, jeopardizing the survival of countless species.

The following is a reaction statement from Earthjustice attorney Ben Levitan:

“The government’s new legal position is a prescription for extinction. It says that as long as you claim you didn’t mean to kill an endangered species, the law can’t and won’t stop you. That’s ridiculous – and a totally illegal, active misreading of the Endangered Species Act. We’ll see the Trump administration in court about this.”

Background

The Fish and Wildlife Service memo argues for a reinterpretation of what it means to “take” endangered wildlife under the law, so that harming or even killing an endangered animal would no longer be considered illegal unless the person specifically intended to cause harm or death. Dated Sept. 14, the same day that a rulemaking to redefine “harm” under the ESA to allow for habitat destruction went into effect this memo twists the law into the exact opposite of its intended purpose. It seeks to make protecting species the exception, rather than the rule. The memo provides a clear example of how the would interpret the law going forward: “A vessel that inadvertently strikes a whale has not taken it, because the vessel’s course was not set against the whale.”

In mid-July, Earthjustice filed a lawsuit to challenge the sweeping change to the regulatory definition of “harm,” which has left countless species vulnerable to habitat destruction. Loss of habitat is the No. 1 cause of species extinction.