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Conservation groups sue over Endangered Species Act habitat change

scienceJul 14, 2026271,042

Today conservation groups and a licensed fishing guide filed suit in federal court in San Francisco to block the Trump administration’s new interpretation of the Endangered Species Act that excludes destruction of habitat from the statute’s prohibition on “harm.” The complaint says the Administration reversed 50 years of bipartisan precedent and that the Supreme Court’s ruling in Babbitt v. Sweet Home confirms “harm” includes habitat destruction; the ESA itself directs conservation of ecosystems on which listed species depend. Plaintiffs include the Western Environmental Law Center (attorney Pete Frost spoke for plaintiffs), EPIC (Tom Wheeler), KS Wild (attorney Sydney Wilkins), and fishing guide Chris Daughters, who said his McKenzie River business depends on cold clean water for salmon. The filing argues the administration failed to evaluate the environmental consequences before changing the rule and asks the court to set aside the reinterpretation and require such analysis. The complaint warns the change would imperil species whose listings are driven by habitat loss, citing spotted owls, marbled murrelets, and the Sierra Nevada yellow-legged frog (now about 90 percent gone), and warns grizzlies, salmon, and owls would lose protections tied to where they live. Conservation groups and the International Crane Foundation have also flagged the rollback as further threatening whooping cranes and other wildlife. The plaintiffs point to recent Klamath River dam removals that reopened historic salmon habitat as an example of how habitat protection has enabled recovery efforts they say the new rule would undermine.

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