US Interior ends automatic protection for threatened species

The U.S. Department of the Interior has finalized two major changes to the implementation of the Endangered Species Act, ending automatic protections for newly listed threatened species and requiring economic impacts to be weighed when designating critical habitat. The rules, announced on July 18, 2026, represent a significant shift in how the landmark 1973 conservation law is administered.

The most consequential change rescinds the so-called "blanket rule," a policy in place since 1975 for wildlife and 1977 for plants. That rule automatically extended the same comprehensive protections given to endangered species-such as prohibitions on killing, trapping, or harassing-to species listed as "threatened," meaning they are likely to become endangered in the foreseeable future. Under the new policy, protections for threatened species will be determined on a case-by-case basis, a process officials say will be more tailored but that critics warn will be slow and bureaucratic.

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum defended the changes, stating the Endangered Species Act had been used to stop projects, driving up costs and weakening national competitiveness. He argued success should be...