Removing habitat protections from Endangered Species Act would imperil Wisconsin’s endangered wildlife

The rusty-patched bumble bee, whooping crane, karner blue butterfly—these some of are the rare Wisconsin wildlife species that rely on protection from the Endangered Species Act to survive. Now, a push from the Trump Administration to allow the destruction of endangered species’ habitat would leave no path to recovery for wildlife across the state and country.

“Habitat loss is the single biggest driver of wildlife extinction,” says Clean Wisconsin Science Program Director Paul Mathewson. “That’s why the Endangered Species Act has long been interpreted to include protections for habitat. Common sense tells us that destroying a species’ food and shelter harms the species itself.”

The Endangered Species Act prohibits actions that “harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect” endangered plants and animals. But last week, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service said in a proposed rule that degrading or destroying habitat should not be considered harm.

“Habitat protection and restoration is what allowed native species like the Kirtland’s warbler to finally move off of the federally Endangered Species list,” Mathewson points out. The Wisconsin songbird hit population lows of just a few hundred in the 1980s and was one of the first songbirds placed on the Endangered Species list. Populations began to rebound after years of intensive work to safeguard its habitat.

“The removal of habitat protections would undercut much of the progress we’ve made since the Endangered Species Act became law in 1973. It may remain on the books, but its ability to truly protect America’s biodiversity would be substantially diminished,” says Matthewson.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service are accepting public comments on this proposed change until May 19. Public comments can be submitted here on the Regulations.gov website.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.