Reverse the Fish and Wildlife Directive That Guts Endangered Species Protections

Reverse the Fish and Wildlife Service's September 14 directive from Director Brian Nesvik — the one that lets timber companies log forests knowing they'll kill endangered birds, or lets developers build dams knowing they'll wipe out salmon, as long as those animals weren't the "target." This isn't a technical clarification. It's a free pass for industry to drive species to extinction without consequence. For decades, the Endangered Species Act held people accountable for predictable harm to protected wildlife, and it worked. The bald eagle, American alligator, and California condor all came back from the brink because of those protections. Dan Ashe, who led Fish and Wildlife under President Obama, called this directive "a huge loophole" that "completely relieves people of any responsibility for their actions, even consequences that can be easily predicted." He's right. Grizzly bears, manatees, spotted owls — none of them will survive a legal standard that only punishes someone who hunts them on purpose. Push back on this directive and support any legislative effort to restore the ESA's original protections. Extinctions are permanent. The political damage from letting this stand will be too.