A federal judge in California has reversed a 2019 plan by the Trump administration to weaken the landmark Endangered Species Act, thus reinstating protections for hundreds of species.
Kristen Boyles, an attorney with Earthjustice, said in a statement, "The Court spoke up for species in dire need of broad federal protection without compromise."
The decision is a victory for environmental, conservation, and climate enthusiasts. The reinstatement of the protections could also be advantageous for climate activists, which contend that oil and gas production in specific places could endanger endangered species.
A lack of protection for threatened and endangered creatures is just not an option, according to Boyles.
Trump's reorganization altered how the Fish and Wildlife Service and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration determined which species merit government protection.
It might have greatly stretched the time required for a species to be protected, so excluding several species from consideration for protection.
The state of California and a coalition of environmental groups, including Earthjustice and the Center for Biological Diversity, had filed a lawsuit against the Biden administration to reverse the revisions.
The Biden administration declared a year ago that it will review and modify measures taken by outgoing president Donald Trump.
However, some environmental groups were dissatisfied with what they perceived to be the glacial pace of the current administration.
"Trump's dismantling of endangered species safeguards should have been reversed on the first day of the Biden administration. With today's court verdict, the Services can finally begin conserving and rehabilitating endangered species," said Noah Greenwald, director of endangered species at the Center for Biological Diversity.
Boyles said that the Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service of the Biden administration had ceased their review and requested the California judge to return the rules without dismissing them.
Boyles made the following statement: "The Fish and Wildlife Service hasn't done a very good job for us. However, they stopped saying it in June of last year. They didn't do anything. Because of this, a court injunction had to be issued."
In his ruling, U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of California Jon Tigar stated that the Biden administration has not "evinced a desire to retain the 2019 ESA Rules intact," making the decision to overturn the Trump administration's order simple.
Interior Administration official Tyler Cherry said that the department is evaluating the decision.
