President Donald Trump's administration moved Wednesday to roll back protections for imperiled species and the places they live, reviving a suite of changes to Endangered Species Act regulations during the Republican's first term that were blocked under former Democratic President Joe Biden.
The proposed changes include the elimination of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's “blanket rule" that automatically protects animals and plants when they are classified as threatened. Government agencies instead would have to craft species-specific rules for protections, a potentially lengthy process.
