Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall is leading a 20-state coalition in support of the Trump administration’s proposed regulations for implementing the Endangered Species Act, submitting formal comments to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service. The coalition argues the proposed rules would restore alignment with the text of the federal law, reduce what they describe as counterproductive regulatory burdens, and encourage greater cooperation with landowners in efforts to recover protected species.
“In 2016, the Obama administration abandoned a decades-old framework for designating critical habitat and gave sweeping new powers to unelected bureaucrats in direct violation of the Endangered Species Act,” Marshall said in a statement. “We filed suit and the federal government agreed to reconsider the rules. President Trump’s reforms in 2019 restored balance and common sense. Then in 2024, the Biden administration repealed those sensible reforms and enacted additional unlawful regulations. We are glad that the Trump administration is once again reversing course.”
A central focus of the coalition’s letter is support for restoring a two-step process for designating critical habitat. Under the proposed rules, federal agencies would first evaluate areas currently occupied by a species and only consider unoccupied areas if occupied habitat alone is insufficient to ensure conservation. The approach was used for more than 30 years before it was eliminated in 2016 and, according to the coalition, better reflects the statutory requirement that unoccupied areas be “essential for the conservation of the species.” The attorneys general also back applying the same standard to both listing and delisting species, with regulatory burdens easing as species recover.
The letter further emphasizes support for what it calls a return to cooperative federalism, recognizing the role of states and local partners in conservation decisions. The coalition states it “commends the Services for proposing to realign their regulations with the textual requirements of the Endangered Species Act.”
Marshall led the coalition alongside the attorney general of North Dakota. Attorneys general from Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming also signed onto the letter.
Don’t miss out! Subscribe to our email newsletter to have all our smart stories delivered to your inbox.
