9/16/26 update: The Senate Agriculture Committee passed their version of the Farm Bill today, without the controversial Save Our Bacon Act on a party-line vote of 12-11. The Senate will need to work with the House, which included the Save Our Bacon Act in their version of the bill that passed in April, on a final version of the Farm Bill.

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.

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.