The Trump administration has finalized a major change to how the Endangered Species Act is enforced, removing a decades-old regulatory definition that treated some destruction of wildlife habitat as unlawful “harm” to protected animals.
The rule was issued jointly by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service, which operate under the Departments of the Interior and Commerce. It is scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on July 14 and will take effect 60 days later. It was not issued by the Environmental Protection Agency.
For decades, federal regulations defined “harm” as an action that actually kills or injures protected wildlife, including significant habitat modification that disrupts essential activities such as breeding, feeding, sheltering, spawning or migration.
That interpretation meant developers, mining companies, loggers and other land users could face restrictions or be required to obtain permits when habitat destruction was expected to injure or kill a listed species, even when the activity did not directly target the animal.
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Once the new rule becomes effective, that specific regulatory definition will be removed from federal regulations. The administration says the Endangered Species Act’s prohibition on “taking” protected wildlife should focus on direct acts against animals rather than functioning as a broad federal land-use restriction.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said the previous interpretation created unpredictable costs and delays for landowners, farmers, energy producers and businesses. Administration officials maintain that directly killing or injuring protected wildlife will remain prohibited and that other portions of the Endangered Species Act will continue to protect species and certain critical habitats.
However, the government’s own final rule acknowledges that the change will affect the permitting process for private activities.
Under the new interpretation, applicants seeking incidental-take permits will no longer be required to explain and mitigate habitat modification in the same way. The Interior Department also said future permits will no longer automatically include conditions requiring companies to account for habitat degradation solely because it was previously considered “harm.”
The practical effect could be especially significant for development on private or non-federal land. Activities such as logging, construction, mining, agriculture or energy production may become easier to approve when they alter habitat but do not directly kill or injure an animal in an immediately observable way.
Other protections remain available. Federal agencies are still required in certain circumstances to consult over actions that may affect listed species or designated critical habitat. The law also continues to regulate hunting, capturing, killing, wounding and other direct forms of taking protected wildlife.
Environmental organizations argue that separating animals from the places they need to survive ignores basic conservation science. A species can be placed at serious risk when nesting areas, feeding grounds, wetlands or migration routes are destroyed, even if no animal is visibly killed at the moment development begins.
The wider regulatory definition was upheld by the Supreme Court in its 1995 Babbitt v. Sweet Home decision. The court concluded that the government could reasonably interpret “harm” to include habitat modification that actually kills or injures protected wildlife.
The Trump administration argues that the 2024 Supreme Court decision ending broad judicial deference to federal agencies allows regulators to reconsider whether that remains the best reading of the statute. The final rule says the 1995 ruling found the broader interpretation permissible, not mandatory.
Conservation groups are preparing legal challenges. Defenders of Wildlife has announced plans to sue, while other environmental attorneys argue that the agencies cannot simply remove an interpretation that has been used for decades and previously survived Supreme Court review.
The stakes extend beyond individual animals. The Fish and Wildlife Service has credited the Endangered Species Act with preventing the extinction of approximately 99% of species that received federal protection. The law has contributed to recoveries involving animals such as the bald eagle, although habitat protection is only one of several tools used under the statute.
Globally, habitat and land-use changes remain among the leading pressures on biodiversity. A major international scientific assessment estimated that around one million plant and animal species face possible extinction unless the forces driving biodiversity loss are reduced.
The rule therefore creates a major policy divide. Businesses and property-rights advocates see it as protection against federal overreach. Conservation groups see it as removing preventive safeguards and waiting until wildlife is directly injured before federal law can intervene.
Why It Matters
The change could make it easier for companies and landowners to develop areas occupied by endangered wildlife, reducing permitting costs but potentially increasing pressure on forests, wetlands and other ecosystems.
For local communities, the effects may extend beyond wildlife. Healthy habitats can support clean water, flood protection, tourism, fishing and other economic benefits. Legal uncertainty could also delay projects if environmental groups successfully challenge the rule in federal court.
What Comes Next
The rule is scheduled for official publication on July 14 and is expected to become effective 60 days later. Environmental organizations are likely to file lawsuits seeking to block or overturn it before implementation.
Federal courts will then determine whether the administration has legal authority to remove the definition and how much habitat destruction can still qualify as prohibited harm under the remaining language of the Endangered Species Act.
The new rule narrows when habitat destruction can be treated as unlawful harm to endangered wildlife.
🇺🇸 The Trump administration just changed what “harm” means under the Endangered Species Act.
Destroying an endangered species’ habitat is no longer automatically illegal. You now have to directly injure or kill the animal.
The habitat isn’t protected. The animal technically is.… pic.twitter.com/yEEYnY3DRE
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) July 10, 2026
