8/6/26 update: The Senate Agriculture Committee did not pass a Farm Bill today, leaving the controversial Save Our Bacon Act out of the legislation as negotiations continue.
By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block
Over the last several weeks, the Trump administration has followed through on its November 2025 declaration of war on the Endangered Species Act and other wildlife protection laws.
Trump administration weakens more Endangered Species Act protections
New changes remove the Endangered Species Act’s blanket 4(d) rule, ending automatic protections for future threatened species and weakening long-standing wildlife safeguards.
By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block
This week, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed to change Endangered Species Act protections for grizzly bears in the Lower 48 states, while leaving open the door to a future proposal to delist the species from federal protections.
Trump administration signals steps to remove grizzly bear Endangered Species Act protections
Department of Interior announces policy changes are underway, despite fewer than 2,000 remaining in isolated populations across the Lower 48 states
WASHINGTON (July 14, 2026)—Trump administration leaders and some Western state governors appeared to announce a new policy shift aimed at removing Endangered Species Act protections for grizzly bears, another action in the war on wildlife that could jeopardize the recovery of the approximately 2,000 bears remaining in tiny, isolated populations across the Lower 48 states.
By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block
“Harm” is not just a word. When it comes to the Trump administration’s wildlife policies, it’s the defining word.
For more than half a century, the Endangered Species Act has helped save wildlife in large part because it protects the habitats animals need to survive. Last week, the Trump administration issued a rule changing a regulatory interpretation of the word “harm” in the Endangered Species Act that has been essential to its function.
With the advancement of the House Appropriations Committee’s FY 2027 Interior-Environment Appropriations bill on a 35-27 vote, we’ve reached a new stage in the war on wildlife.
By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block
