Reed: Trump seeks to gut Endangered Species Act

PROVIDENCE — Standing in front of the rainforest exhibit at the Roger Williams Park Zoo, U.S. Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., on Friday denounced efforts by President Donald Trump’s administration to roll back key components of the Endangered Species Act. 

The act, which outlines protections for plant and animal species in danger of becoming extinct, is one of the most important frameworks lawmakers have to protect critical species and their habitats, Reed said, and it is under attack by the Trump administration.

Earlier this week, the Trump administration proposed new rules that would make it easier to remove species from the endangered list, allow regulators to conduct economic assessments when deciding whether a species warrants protection and make it more difficult for regulators to factor in the effects of climate change on wildlife when making decisions about a species’ protection.

“I’m deeply concerned by the negative impact the Trump administration is having on the environment through it’s clawback of fundamental clean air, clean water and public lands protections,” Reed said. “... The consistent theme of the administration's environmental agenda is very clear: roll back environmental protections to benefit fossil fuel producers and extractive industries.”

The act, which is credited with helping bring back iconic species, such as the American bald eagle, from the brink of extinction, also protects many species that call Rhode Island home, including the piping plover and American burying beetle, which has its largest documented population in the country on Block Island.  

But the protection of endangered species and their habitats isn’t only something nature lovers should care about, Reed said. A healthy ecosystem also means a strong economy.

“Protecting our wildlife and our environment is essential to our economy,” he said. “Recreational activities in Rhode Island alone generate millions of dollars each year, and without a clean environment, without species to observe, without the rules and regulations we have, that recreational industry would be vastly threatened, and that’s just one example.”

Asked by The Journal to respond to Reed's comments, the U.S. Interior Department sent quotes first published Monday in a news release. In the release, Interior Secretary David Bernhardt said: "The best way to uphold the Endangered Species Act is to do everything we can to ensure it remains effective in achieving its ultimate goal — recovery of our rarest species. The Act’s effectiveness rests on clear, consistent and efficient implementation. An effectively administered Act ensures more resources can go where they will do the most good: on-the-ground conservation."

Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross was quoted as saying: "The revisions finalized with this rulemaking fit squarely within the President’s mandate of easing the regulatory burden on the American public, without sacrificing our species’ protection and recovery goals. These changes were subject to a robust, transparent public process, during which we received significant public input that helped us finalize these rules.”

So far, California and Massachusetts have announced legal challenges to the Trump administration’s proposed changes, according to Reed’s office.

Reed said it would be up to state Attorney General Peter Neronha to decide whether Rhode Island would mount its own legal challenge. Reed said he would continue to voice his opinion about the issue and rally public support for the Endangered Species Act.

“It will take this kind of broad-based pressure, (from) people like you who are assembled here today, from the Congress and from the courts to ensure that we will alter the administration’s course and we will commit ourselves to an environment that allows our economy to flourish by protecting species and protecting land and protecting clean air and clean water,” he said.

— mlist@providencejournal.com

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