"In its 52 years, the Endangered Species Act has been a muscular protector of vulnerable plants and animals, invoked to stymie roads, development, and logging or shipping patterns, and shielding entire areas from activity that could edge those species toward extinction.
Shifting the political winds to target the landmark law’s clout, the Trump administration has sought more leeway for energy, mining, and other industries that the ESA has interfered with in the name of protecting vulnerable species.
The act’s staying power often has proved durable in federal court cases – notably against President Donald Trump’s first-term efforts to roll back species-protective regulations that fell to a Northern California judge’s ruling that the Interior Department now is appealing.
Congressional critics have long pursued efforts to limit the act, thus far failing to enact significant changes even with Republican control of Capitol Hill.
The administration’s federal workforce reductions, however, have cost the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) about a quarter of its staff, and also hit the U.S. Forest Service and other agencies that implement the ESA, notably in the ranks of science and monitoring personnel whose work informs decision-making on saving species."
Rita Beamish reports for National Parks Traveler June 24, 2026.
