The administration of President Joe Biden on Friday announced it would restore protections under the Endangered Species Act, a law credited with saving iconic animals like the gray wolf and bald eagle, which were loosened by his predecessor Donald Trump.

Conservation groups welcomed the move but said they were concerned about how long the reversal might take.

"The US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) is committed to working with diverse federal, Tribal, state and industry partners to not only protect and recover America's imperiled wildlife but to ensure cornerstone laws like the Endangered Species Act are helping us meet 21st century challenges," said the agency's Martha Williams.

The executive branch doesn't have the power to change an act of Congress, but under Trump the protections for plants and wildlife were tweaked in key ways.

They included removing a rule that automatically conveys the same protections to threatened species and endangered species, and allowing information on economic impact to be gathered when making determinations on how wildlife is listed.

The FWS now proposes to undo those changes, saying it would formulate new rules in the coming months.

"We are grateful the Biden administration is moving to protect the most imperiled species by reversing the Trump-era rules, but time is of the essence," environmental law non-profit group Earthjustice said in response.

"Each day that goes by is another day that puts our imperiled species and their habitats in danger."

Related Links
Our Polluted World and Cleaning It Up

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

EU court raps Germany for dirty air in cities
Berlin (AFP) June 3, 2021
The EU's top court ruled on Thursday that Germany continually violated upper limits for nitrogen dioxide, a polluting gas from diesel motors that causes major health problems, over several years. Germany infringed air quality rules "by systematically and persistently exceeding" the annual nitrogen dioxide limit in 26 out of 89 areas from 2010 to 2016, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) said in its ruling. The European Commission, the EU's executive arm, referred the matter to the ECJ in 2018 a ... read more