Boston (August 12, 2019) – Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), a member of the Environment and Public Works Committee and Chair of the Senate Climate Change Task Force, released the following statement after the Department of the Interior announced changes to implementation of the Endangered Species Act.

The Trump administration’s proposed rule would no longer automatically protect threatened species or those species on the way to becoming endangered, delaying action until a species’ population may be beyond help. Additionally, the Department of Interior’s plans would take into account economic factors to be analyzed when deciding whether a species should be saved. Overall, these changes will take numerous species, including those most impacted by climate change, to the brink of extinction. The Endangered Species Act has successfully aided the survival of 99 percent of all listed species since enactment.

“Our climate crisis is creating an extinction crisis,” said Senator Markey. “The Endangered Species Act is one of our nation’s bedrock environmental laws. The Trump administration’s proposed rollback of the ESA at the behest of the oil, gas, and mining industries will put countless species in the crosshairs of extinction. Ignoring the climate crisis has made the challenge for these threatened species greater – this rollback fans those flames. Under President Trump and Secretary Bernhardt, the ESA will stand for Every Species Annihilated.” 

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