Biden administration moves to restore endangered species protections dropped by Trump

By MATTHEW BROWN
Associated Press

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — The Biden administration has proposed new rules for protecting imperiled plants and animals as officials move to reverse changes under former President Donald Trump that weakened application of the Endangered Species Act. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Wednesday said it will reinstate a decades-old regulation that mandates blanket protections for species newly classified as threatened. That measure was dropped under Trump as part of a suite of changes to the species law that was encouraged by industry. Energy companies, ranchers, farmers and many Republicans in Congress have long viewed the 1973 law as an impediment to economic development.