Earlier this week the Trump administration announced plans to roll back protections for endangered species, according to Seeking Alpha. The move could expand oil and gas drilling and other development in the United States, as the plan includes allowing economic factors to be weighed in before adding an animal to the list.
The revisions won’t affect the status of species now considered threatened or endangered, but they will restrict how future assessments are made. Critics of the plan say it will limit how much the risks of climate change can be considered and how many species end up listed as threatened and endangered.
The new rule will also end a policy that automatically gave the highest level of protection to species listed as threatened even before they were listed as endangered, and they place more restrictions on which areas can be designated as critical habitat.
Learn more: Seeking Alpha > Interior Department sets plan to ease Endangered Species Act regulations
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