Democrats Move to Block Trump Sabotage of Endangered Species Act

(CN) – Democrats introduced legislation Tuesday that would repeal rules the Trump administration used to reduce protections under the Endangered Species Act.

In August, Interior Secretary David Bernhardt announced changes that substantially rolled back the Endangered Species Act: rules that limited protections for species listed as threatened, that made it easier to remove species from the endangered list and that allowed the use of economic assessments as part of the process for determining whether to list a species under the act.

The move was widely viewed by environmentalists as an attempt to clear the way for an increase in mining, logging and other extractive activities by weakening the country’s strongest law protecting wildlife – a law that is responsible for preventing the extinction of bald eagles, grizzly bears and whooping cranes, as well as 99% of the species listed under its protection.

On Tuesday, Democrats introduced a bill that would repeal the rules planned to take effect this month. Senator Tom Udall of New Mexico and House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Raul Grijalva of Arizona introduced H.R. 4348, the “Protect America’s Wildlife and Fish in Need of Protection Act of 2019” or the “PAW and FIN Act of 2019.”

Democratic Representative Don Beyer of Virginia and Representative Debbie Dingell of Michigan are also sponsoring the legislation.

https://www.courthousenews.com/democrats-move-to-block-trump-sabotage-of-endangered-species-act/