In what would be a seismic shift, the Trump administration is quietly moving to strip a core protection of the Endangered Species Act, according to an internal memo obtained by The New York Times. … Currently, enforcement of the Endangered Species Act relies on a permitting system that seeks to balance protecting imperiled animals with allowing business to operate. For example, if developers wanted to build houses on a tract of land that is home to endangered salamanders, they would have to apply for a permit. In exchange for implementing some measures to protect the salamanders, and perhaps paying for salamander conservation elsewhere, the Fish and Wildlife Service would issue what’s known as an incidental take permit, absolving them of killing a certain number of salamanders. The memo, which was signed by Brian Nesvik, the director of the Fish and Wildlife Service, appears to upend that entire system.

Related:

• CNN: Trump administration’s endangered species habitat rule repeal takes effect, facing bipartisan pushback in Congress
• Inside Climate News: Pushback mounts against Trump’s Attacks on the Endangered Species Act
• Deseret News (Salt Lake City): 20 states and D.C. sue Trump over change to endangered species protections
• Center for Biological Diversity: News release: Trump administration directive would allow killing of endangered wildlife