Protect the Endangered Species Act and protect wildlife
The Trump Administration has really done it this time.
I do not live in America, though I had five very happy years there back in the 80s, and look back on my time there with great affection and love. But I care deeply about the natural world and those who live there very much indeed.
And like many people, I am absolutely dismayed at the Trump Administration’s move on the Endangered Species Act.
The Administration has stripped away vital protections for endangered species’ habitats. It has repealed the regulatory definitions of the word ‘harm’ under this Act, and the Centre for Biological Diversity says that it is serving a death blow to endangered species across the US. You can read their press release here. There’s also background to the Endangered Species Act here in an article on The Conversation. In the article, Professor Patrick Parenteau (Professor of Law Emeritus, Vermont Law & Graduate School) thinks there are several reasons the rule change is not likely to survive the legal challenges that have already begun.
The video below is from the Centre for Biological Diversity.
One of the key drivers of extinction of wildlife is habitat loss
Animals can’t live without habitat. They need their habitat – the right sort of habitat – to survive and thrive.
I was watching Sky News yesterday, and Canada was going up in flames, Spain has more wildfires north and south, Norway has a wildfire, California has had wildfires this week. Every time I see wildfires on the news, it breaks my heart because I think of the terrible loss to wildlife habitat and animals, people too. Loss of habitat - whether through fire, logging, mining - leaves the surviving animals with little or nothing to eat because the trees and vegetation they need to survive and thrive has gone.
In Australia, you see the koalas who suffered terribly because of wildfires. “Without a tree, there is no me” is one Australian koala charity’s saying and it is so very true. When koala habitat is destroyed in a fire or because of logging and human development, the koala's food is destroyed as well. There's nothing for the surviving koalas to eat.
This administration wants Americans to believe that cutting down a forest doesn’t harm the spotted owls who nest in its trees. That draining a wetland doesn’t harm the whooping cranes who come back there every year. That damming and polluting a salmon river somehow doesn’t harm salmon.
That’s a dangerous fiction. It defies both science and common sense. And it puts imperiled species across the country at even greater risk of extinction.
The roll back of protection in the US is terrible for wildlife and all our wellbeing. The Trump Administration, say the Centre for Biological Diversity, is and I quote, “paving the way for habitat destruction by extractive industries”.
That means that the habitats of endangered species can be opened to destructive activities such as logging, mining, oil and gas drilling and others.
To protect species, you have to protect the places where they live. This is something environmental and conservation charities understand well – it’s just a shame that the Trump Administration don’t seem to think endangered species matter. Perhaps they think the animals don’t exist?
We need to have a healthy world in a good condition so that everyone on it can survive and thrive.
We are all going to need to stand up and FIGHT for wildlife and their habitat in whatever way we can. We’ll need to get political, to shout for wildlife, to contribute in any way we can and support the charities working to stop the lessening of protections to wildlife. There is a lot we can all do in our own backyards and gardens – our own regions – our own countries – and there is more still we can do in our world.
Without our voices, animals have no chance.
A number of conservation/wildlife charities are suing the Trump Administration to challenge the removal of habitat protections. for endangered species.
Oregon Wild – based in Portland, they work to protect wildlands, wildlife, and waters for generations to come.
Columbia Riverkeeper – they are focused on protecting the Columbia River and the communities, fish and wildlife that depend on it
Conservation Northwest – they protect wildlife and habitat in Washington and the Pacific Northwest
Centre for Biological Diversity protecting endangered species through legal action, scientific petitions, creative media and grassroots activism
Conservation Law Foundation “protects New England’s environment for the benefit of all people. We use the law, science, and the market to create solutions that preserve our natural resources, build healthy communities, and sustain a vibrant economy.”
Friends of the Wild Swan protecting and restoring water quality, fish and wildlife habitat in the wild Rockies of northwest Montana
You could also look at the Sierra Club is a grassroots environmental organization in the US, amplifying the power of its millions of members to defend everyone’s right to a healthy world.
WildEarth Guardians made comment on the change too. They protects and restores the wildlife, wild places, wild rivers, and health of the American West
Please also take a look at the Nature Conservancy in the US – they have lots of ways to stand up for nature, and many of them are very quick!
Endangered Species Need Habitat – Please sign and Urge Democratic leaders in Congress to do everything in their power to restore essential habitat protections for endangered species.
This move is illegal and we're fighting back alongside our allies. For every imperiled Florida manatee, grizzly bear, northern-spotted owl, Hawaiian monk seal, Canada lynx, and more — we are fighting back to restore the Act to its full power.
Please stand up for nature. The natural world needs us - and we need the natural world.
5 ways to help the natural world
Become political. Write to your local representative or people further up the chain, and tell them wildlife and the natural world matters to you and why it matters to all humans, as well as animals. Look for ways to add your voice to campaigns to stop nature being destroyed for human activity such as development, mining, quarrying etc.
Find out what is going on in your local area. What are conservation charities doing? How can you support them?
Spread the word about what is happening to the Endangered Species Act. Sharing the video from the Centre for Biological Diversity at the top of this page would be a good start. Many people won't know what the Trump Administration is planning. But it's not just about the US. In the UK, we have a number of small groups who are frantically trying to save the natural world from human activity such as quarrying, mining, infrastructure and more.
Give conservation charities your support. Follow them on social media, become a member, donate to an appeal. This doesn't have to be in your home country. We need to protect the natural world everywhere.
Spend time in the natural world if you can. Even if you just gaze at the sky at night - we live in a beautiful world which we share with so very many, many thousands and thousands of species. Spend time in nature and feel its benefits and then make a note of why it matters to you in heart, mind and soul.
By the way, it’s not just endangered species the Trump Administration is having a go at: Bears Ears and the Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments are at risk as well. Give them your voice and Oppose Trump’s latest National Monument Attack. The Wilderness Society also has a petition to Defend Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments.
The beautiful photo at the top of this blog is by Harrison Hargrave on Unsplash. Thank you, Harrison!
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