California’s beloved condors and sea otters have rebounded from the brink of extinction thanks to the Endangered Species Act. Now the state is going to court to keep the 50-year-old law intact, filing two lawsuits Wednesday to block what Democratic leaders describe as the Trump administration’s rollback of its protections. Attorney General Rob Bonta filed the suits with a coalition of 21 attorneys general, adding to dozens California has already filed to combat the Trump administration’s deregulatory agenda. … Trump’s changes, finalized in July, rescind a definition of harm that made it illegal to damage the places that endangered species call home — effectively opening up habitat where they shelter, breed and eat to mining, logging and other development. 

Other Endangered Species Act news:

• Courthouse News Service: Almost two dozen attorneys general sue over changes to Endangered Species Act
• The New York Times: States sue over Trump’s cuts to endangered species rules
• The Sacramento Bee (Calif.): California AG sues Trump administration over weakening of Endangered Species Act
• The Denver Gazette (Colo.): Colorado joins lawsuit challenging changes to Endangered Species Act