Act Now to Defend the Endangered Species Act

Re: Revisions to Endangered Species Act Regulations

I submit the following comments regarding the US Fish and Wildlife Service proposed revisions to the Endangered Species Act, Docket Nos. FWS–HQ–ES–2025–0039 (Section 4), FWS–HQ–ES–2025–0044 (Section 7), FWS–HQ–ES–2025–0029 (Section 4(d)), FWS–HQ–ES–2025–0048 (Section 4(b)(2)). The ESA has been one of our nation's most effective and popular conservation laws for over 50 years. It has saved species like the American bald eagle, California condor, peregrine falcon and the Florida manatee from extinction and put countless other species on the road to recovery. I do not support the proposed rule changes, which would weaken protections for imperiled species. This would have far-reaching impacts, including exacerbating the biodiversity and extinction crisis, increasing the administrative burden on agencies, and undermining the conservation of habitat important for at-risk species. These regulations would have major effects on ecosystem health and the genetic diversity of species. I strongly urge the Department of Interior and US Fish and Wildlife Service to keep in place critical components of the ESA like the blanket 4(d) rule which has saved countless threatened species from sliding toward extinction. Additionally, the agencies must not move forward with changes improperly allowing economic concerns to bias the science based decision making about which species warrant protection that has made the ESA one of the most effective conservation laws in the US. Nor should the Fish and Wildlife Service finalize the proposed changes that would put a thumb on the scale for habitat-destroying industries to exclude areas from habitat protection.