Save the Endangered Species Act

The Trump Administration and Congress Propose Weakening a Time Tested Law That has Pushed Back Extinction

August 1, 2025

The Endangered Species Act (ESA), passed in 1973, has long been considered one of the strongest laws in the U.S. for protecting imperiled wildlife and their habitats. But this year, the Trump administration, officials at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), and key members of Congress have floated or pushed proposals that would significantly weaken critical protections under the ESA.

Below is an overview of these proposed changes, examples of species that have benefited from the ESA, and a cautionary look at what might happen to gray whales, southern sea otters and great hammerhead sharks (and other endangered species) if disaster strikes, and how you can act to push back. At bottom of this article is a tables with proposed weakening of the Endangered Species Act and a sample email to send to your congressman to stop the proposed weakening under the ESA Amendments Act of 2025 HR 1897 (Bergman).

How These Changes Would Hurt Species Protection

Eroding habitat protections: Eliminating the concept that habitat degradation constitutes “harm” would strip away a central tool to prevent destruction or fragmentation of critical habitat, making it easier for industries (timber, mining, development, energy) to argue their activities should be exempt.
Constraining scientific consultation: Weakening reinitiation or consultation triggers allows agencies to ignore new threats or data that emerge after initial permit approvals.
Slowing listings and accelerating delistings: Adding procedural hurdles or political oversight can delay protections, leaving species exposed to threats longer.
Shifting power to states: Some measures propose allowing states more control—even while species are federally listed—potentially undermining national oversight or consistency in protecting endangered species across state lines.
Freezing agency reform: Legislative riders that bar FWS/NMFS from updating rules effectively lock in weaker, outdated regulations.

Taken together, these efforts would turn back decades of progress—by letting threats accumulate, by making it harder to add new species, and by shrinking the regulatory teeth of the ESA.

Read: ESA Success Stories: What the Law Has Delivered

To understand what’s at risk, it helps to look at species that have benefitted under the ESA. Below are illustrative examples.

Humpback Whales

The ESA has played a key role in the recovery trajectory of many humpback whale populations. NOAA divides humpbacks into distinct population segments (DPS), and in a 2016 review concluded that 9 out of 14 DPS no longer warrant listing under the ESA due to population growth, while the remaining five continue to need protection.

The West Indies DPS is estimated to grow around 3.1% annually.
The East Australia DPS showed growth near 11% in some years.
While not all humpbacks are delisted, the ESA allows resources to be concentrated on the more vulnerable segments.

Even after certain DPS are delisted under the ESA, these whales remain protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), so full protection is not entirely lost.

Gray Whales

One of the earliest and most celebrated successes was the Eastern North Pacific gray whale population, whose recovery led to its delisting in 1994. At that time, the population was around 26,635 individuals and had been growing ~2.5% per year over decades.

The ESA provided legal backing to ensure the protections continued. The importance is highlighted by the recent loss of nearly half the population since 2015 due to starvation and possibly habitat losses and shifts from climate change.

Sea Turtles

Sea turtles have been deeply impacted by habitat loss, bycatch, and pollution. Under the ESA and related protections, key nesting beaches have been safeguarded, fisheries bycatch rules have improved, and restoration efforts have been funded.

As part of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill cleanup, the U.S. government assessed and quantified injury to multiple life stages of sea turtles (loggerhead, Kemp’s ridley, green, hawksbill). Thousands of adult/juvenile sea turtles were estimated killed, and tens of thousands of small juveniles were impacted.
In response, restoration funding (e.g. $210 million approved in June 2025) allocates projects to help sea turtle recovery from habitat protection, vessel-strike reduction, and stranding response improvements.

These recovery efforts underscore how law, funding and restoration can mitigate severe injuries from disasters, if the legal framework remains robust.

Call to Action: How You Can Help Protect the ESA

The decisions made now could determine whether the ESA remains a strong shield for species—or is gutted into ineffectiveness. Here’s how you can make your voice heard.

Step 1: Identify your Congressional representatives

You can find your U.S. House Representative and U.S. Senators by entering your zip code (or address) at Congress.gov or on sites like whoismyrepresentative.com.

Step 2: Draft a letter or email (or call) — use this template & tips

Below is a sample you can tailor:

Subject: Please oppose ESA rollbacks & defend habitat protections

Dear [Representative / Senator NAME],

I am writing as your constituent to express strong opposition to current proposals that would weaken the Endangered Species Act, including redefinition of “harm” to exclude habitat degradation and congressional efforts to freeze or block ESA rulemaking.

The ESA has saved species like humpback whales, gray whales, sea turtles, and sea otters by safeguarding their habitat and requiring strict consultation and evaluation of threats. Weakening these protections would open the door to unchecked habitat destruction and put vulnerable species at grave risk.

I urge you to:

Oppose or vote against bills that undermine ESA protections (e.g. S. 2811 or any versions of the ESA Amendments weakening law).

Support efforts to strengthen and modernize the ESA rulemaking process, not freeze it.

Speak publicly in favor of robust habitat protections, strong consultation triggers, and full scientific integrity in ESA decisions.

Thank you for representing our district. I hope you will act to defend America’s wildlife legacy.

Sincerely,
[Your Name & Contact / Address (optional, but helpful)]

Tips:

Be civil but firm.
Include specific concerns (e.g. “excluding habitat from ‘harm’ will let developers clear critical habitat without oversight”).
If you know species in your region (e.g. sea otters if you live in California), mention that.
Ask for a response or confirmation of their position.
If possible, send both email and postal letter (they are weighted differently by staff). Also call their office.

Step 3: Submit public comments on proposed rules

For the 2025 proposal to rescind the definition of “harm,” public comments are (or were) accepted via Regulations.gov (Docket FWS‑HQ‑ES‑2025‑0034). Even after comment periods close, agencies sometimes reopen or incorporate feedback. Endangered Species Coalition+2Endangered Species Coalition+2

When you comment:

Reference the docket number.
Explain in your own words how habitat protections are essential based on science or local examples.
Cite species you care about.
Ask the agency to retain the existing regulatory definition (i.e., that “harm” includes habitat degradation).

Step 4: Spread awareness & build pressure

Share the blog or your version on social media, local newsletters, or community groups.
Urge others to contact their representatives.
Work with or support conservation NGOs (e.g. Center for Biological Diversity, Defenders of Wildlife, Endangered Species Coalition) that are tracking these issues.
Monitor when your representative is on relevant committees (e.g. House Natural Resources, Senate Environment & Public Works) and weigh in during hearings.

Final Thoughts

The ESA is not perfect—but for decades, it has stood as one of the most powerful tools in the U.S. legal system for defending species from extinction. Rolling back habitat protection, weakening consultation, or freezing regulatory improvements will not just harm obscure species—it threatens whales, sea turtles, sea otters, and the health of ecosystems we all depend on.

We are at a crossroads. If enough people speak up now—writing to Congress, submitting comments, raising public scrutiny—we can help ensure that the ESA remains a living, effective law rather than a hollow shell.

Read What Might Happen to Southern Sea Otters After an Oil Spill?

Support Protecting Endangered Sharks

Sources

United States Fish and Wildlife Service Trump Administration Proposes Revisions to Endangered Species Act Section 7 “Cottonwood”

US Congress Senate Bill 2811

US Proposes Looser Interpretation of Law that Protects Threatened Species Reuters March 25,2025

Endangered Species Coalition Responds to Republican-led Congressional Attacks on Endangered Species Act and Gray Wolves. Endangered Species Coalition, March 25,2025

Proposed ESA Rollbacks: Who’s Pushing What, and How the ESA Would Be Weakened

Below is a non‑exhaustive list of proposed or active legislative and regulatory actions that aim to scale back ESA protections, and how they would do so in practice.

Proposer	Proposal / Bill	Key Weakening Mechanisms	Status / Notes
Trump administration / USFWS / NMFS	Redefinition of “harm” to exclude habitat destruction	In April 2025, Fish & Wildlife and NMFS published a proposed rule to rescind the regulatory definition of “harm” under the ESA, which currently includes “significant habitat modification or degradation” causing injury to listed species. Removing this would mean that actions that degrade vital habitat could avoid being categorized as “take.”	Under public comment (30-day period)
Trump administration / USFWS / NMFS	Revision of Section 7 “consultation” rules (“Cottonwood” changes)	The proposal would expand exemptions from the duty to reinitiate consultations when new information about impacts arises, particularly for large land management plans (e.g. by BLM, Forest Service). That weakens oversight and reduces the time agencies must revisit approvals in light of new threats.	First proposed in 2021 under Trump, with conservation groups criticizing the reduced triggers for reinitiation.
Congress / House Republicans	ESA Amendments Act of 2025	This bill would fundamentally alter how the ESA works: slow down listings of species, fast-track delistings, shift decision authority to states (even while species remain federally listed), and reduce scientific consultation protections.	Under review / being pushed by House Natural Resources subcommittee
Congress (118th)	S. 2811	This Senate bill would require USFWS and NMFS to withdraw proposed ESA‑modernization rules (e.g. updates to interagency cooperation, listing, critical habitat) and bar finalizing, enforcing, or implementing them. In effect, it freezes agency reform in place and hands control to older or weaker rules.	Introduced Sept 2023, referred to Senate Committee
Appropriations riders (House / Congress)	Section 506‑type language	In recent budget legislation, riders have prevented FWS from finalizing new ESA rules or reforms—thus blocking improvements or reversals of weak regulations.	Already enacted in consolidated Appropriations Act 2024 as Section 506, limiting FWS’s rulemaking flexibility.
Other bills / proposals	Currently tehre are over 30 bills or proposed amendments to the ESA. Changes to definitions and managed “take” of threatened species. https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/senate-bill/2811	For example, the House version of the ESA Amendments Act of 2024 / 2025 would alter definitions of “conserve,” “conserving,” and “conservation” so that take of threatened species might become allowable “at the discretion of the Secretary.”	Reported in House report language (H. Rept. 118‑879)