1. United States
2. Texas
3. Letter

am appalled by the Trump administration’s decision to weaken Endangered Species Act protections by narrowing the definition of “harm” and reducing long-standing habitat protections. This is not simply a regulatory change—it ignores one of the most basic principles of conservation science: habitat protection is species protection. You cannot protect endangered wildlife while allowing destruction of the places they need to feed, breed, migrate, shelter, and raise their young. Habitat loss is one of the leading causes of extinction. Weakening habitat protections is not based on the best available science; it prioritizes short-term development over decades of ecological research. (Resistbot⁠) As a Texan, I am especially concerned about species that depend on intact habitat, including the whooping crane, ocelot, golden-cheeked warbler, Houston toad, Kemp’s ridley sea turtle, Texas freshwater mussels, and numerous endangered fish. Nationally, species such as the Florida manatee, Florida panther, sea turtles, salmon, spotted owls, red wolves, and many others could also be harmed by weakening habitat protections. The Endangered Species Act has prevented the extinction of hundreds of species because it recognizes a simple truth: protecting species requires protecting the ecosystems on which they depend. Pretending otherwise is contrary to science and common sense. Please oppose any effort to weaken the Endangered Species Act or its implementation. I urge you to support legislation and oversight that restores strong, science-based habitat protections and ensures that conservation decisions are guided by evidence rather than short-term political or economic interests. Future generations deserve living ecosystems, not apologies for why we failed to protect them when we had the chance.