State AG, other states suing Trump administration over weakening of Endangered Species Act

SEATTLE — Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson is suing the Trump administration in a multistate lawsuit challenging rules over the Endangered Species Act.

Ferguson made the announcement Wednesday during a press conference in Seattle.

Ferguson said the Trump administration can’t issue new rules that conflict with a law passed by Congress. He said the changes will make it harder to protect habitat and would not consider the economic impact of listing a species, rather than just the science.

According to a release from the AG’s office, the Trump Administration’s new rules increase the likelihood that some endangered species will lose their federal protections before they have fully recovered.

“For more than four decades, the Endangered Species Act has been a worldwide model of conservation law,” Ferguson said. “This administration has shown over and over that it will stop at nothing to slash regulations at the whim of industry interests, even if it means putting our shared ecosystem at risk. Every time my office has brought the Trump Administration to court over environmental rollbacks, we’ve won. I expect this lawsuit will be no different.”

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According to the release, “all federal agencies must consult with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marin Fisheries Service to ensure they don’t take any action that might jeopardize an endangered or threatened species or their habitat.”

“We are already witnessing mass extinction of species across the globe, against the backdrop of a changing climate, rising sea levels and a rapidly warming planet. It is abhorrent that the Trump administration could single-handedly wipe out endangered animals and plants for future generations by gutting the Endangered Species Act, which has been a critically important tool for more than 40 years,” Gov. Jay Inslee said.

Washington state reportedly has 49 species listed under the federal Endangered Species Act, which include southern resident orcas, pygmy rabbits, green sea turtles and several salmon species, such as chinook, chum and sockeye.

Officials said the federal protections assure Washington’s efforts to save orcas. Orcas are reported at a 30-year low and there are only 73 southern resident orcas that remain.

In April, environmentalists said a lack of food, toxic water pollution vessel noise and a risk of oil spills were some of the problems that threatened the remaining orcas.

Experts said a lack of Chinook salmon, a primary food source for native Puget Sound orca, was an issue.

In one instance, the endangered animals were spotted in Monterey Bay, California. It was the first time since 2011. “I think it does highlight how far these orcas are going to find their prey,” Sophia Ressler, a staff attorney for the Center for Biological Diversity in Seattle said.

Under the new rules, officials said the changes unlawfully eliminate a blanket protection that automatically bars activity that harms or kills species listed as threatened in the future, including current endangered species.
According to the release, the U.S. Supreme Court has called the ESA the "most comprehensive legislation for the preservation of endangered species ever enacted by any nation."

The AG is asking the court to block the rules, finding them illegal under the ESA, the Administrative Procedure Act and the National Environmental Policy Act.

Cox Media Group