The Trump administration issued a revised federal interpretation of the Endangered Species Act this week, stating that the unintentional killing of protected animals during activities like logging or dam construction is no longer illegal. A directive sent to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) employees establishes that for a killing to be considered unlawful, the imperiled plants or animals must be deliberately targeted.
This policy shift moves away from previous agency practices that held companies and individuals accountable for accidentally harming protected species, such as grizzly bears, manatees, and spotted owls. Administration officials stated they are returning the law to its original intent following a 2024 Supreme Court decision that limited the authority of federal agencies to interpret laws passed by Congress. The new guidance specifically references a 1995 dissenting opinion by former Justice Antonin Scalia.
In a directive dated September 14, 2026, FWS Director Brian Nesvik wrote that felling a tree would not constitute an illegal "take" of roosting bats unless the tree was cut down specifically to kill or capture them. He noted that in such cases, the bats are impacted "indirectly and accidentally." The Interior Department, which oversees the FWS, stated on Thursday, September 17, 2026, that the law still prohibits actions like harassing, hunting, shooting, or trapping protected wildlife when done intentionally.
For individuals and companies, the concrete day-to-day change is a removal of the requirement to mitigate or avoid "accidental" harm to endangered species during commercial operations. Previously, federal policy defined harm broadly to include habitat destruction; under the new interpretation, a person or company would only notice a change in their legal liability and regulatory requirements, as they are no longer responsible for "easily predicted" consequences of their work on local wildlife. Critics, including former FWS Director Dan Ashe and the Center for Biological Diversity, argue this creates a loophole that will permit unpunished deaths of species, potentially accelerating extinctions.
The knock-on effects include a likely increase in legal challenges and a shift in how federal agencies prioritize wildlife protection versus industrial expansion. The policy sets a precedent for using judicial dissents to reshape environmental regulations. States and conservation groups have already filed lawsuits to overturn these changes. What happens next depends on the outcome of these court cases, as well as the implementation of the September 14 directive by FWS staff across the country.