Trump’s sneaky plan to gut Endangered Species Act draws from 1995 Scalia dissent

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service issued a memo instructing staff to reinterpret the Endangered Species Act so that only actions “specifically intending to target an animal” are prohibited. The memo states that accidental vessel strikes on whales or incidental tree felling that does not aim to kill or capture bats do not constitute a “take.” This shift removes protections against habitat modifications that cause preventable deaths of vulnerable species.