Trump memo narrows endangered species protections

A Trump administration memorandum narrows how the US Fish and Wildlife Service applies endangered species protections, saying incidental killings of protected wildlife will no longer be treated as unlawful.

The September 14 memorandum says deaths resulting from foreseeable risks in activities such as commercial fishing or logging are exempt from the Endangered Species Act. The Interior Department confirmed the document was genuine.

The memorandum redefines “take”, a term linked to pursuing, killing or capturing a species, as “affirmative conduct intentionally directed against a particular animal or animals.” It says a vessel that inadvertently strikes a whale has not taken it if its course was not set against the whale, and that felling a tree is not a take of bats roosting in it unless the tree is felled to kill or capture them.

Brian Nesvik, director of the Fish and Wildlife Service, signed the document. The Interior Department said it reflected the service’s guidance after a final rule rescinding the regulatory definition of “harm.”

Conservation groups criticised the change. Oceana vice president Beth Lowell said it would weaken the balance between economic activity and wildlife protection. Oceana said North Atlantic right whales, whose main threats include fishing gear entanglement and ship collisions, could be among the main species affected. The group said about 380 North Atlantic right whales remain.