Sierra Club Celebrates Biden Administration Move to Restore Critical Habitat Protections

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Today, the Biden Administration moved to restore essential protections for critical habitats of threatened and endangered species. The move reverses Trump-era rules that unlawfully defined “habitat” to exclude certain locations from Endangered Species Act protections even if they will become habitat in the future, or could be restored to become suitable habitat for wildlife.

The rule changes, proposed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and NOAA Fisheries, will make it easier to protect threatened and endangered species and support their recovery. Sierra Club joined other environmental organizations in a lawsuit brought by Earthjustice challenging the Trump rules. The two proposed habitat rules begin with 30-day public comment periods. The Trump rules remain in place during the ongoing litigation and rulemaking processes.

In response to the announcement, Kirin Kennedy, Director for People and Nature Policy at the Sierra Club, released the following statement:

“We are pleased the Biden Administration is working to restore these critical protections under the Endangered Species Act. 

“We face multiple interconnected crises, including a biodiversity crisis, which has put nearly a million species on the brink of extinction. At this critical moment, we need a robust ESA to help slow mass extinction, take on the climate crisis, and move us closer to a just and sustainable climate future.

“Today’s decision will be critical to that effort. We encourage the Biden Administration to go a step further and restore vital protections for threatened and endangered species undercut by Trump-era rules.”