Trump’s sneaky plan to gut Endangered Species Act draws from 1995 Scalia dissent
Trump adopts Scalia’s ire for feds protecting populations of endangered animals.
In a recent development that has caught the attention of conservationists, The New York Times revealed that an internal memo had been circulated among US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) field offices. This memo instructed staff to reinterpret the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in a way that would permit the preventable deaths of vulnerable animals, causing shock and dismay among those dedicated to preserving wildlife.
FWS Director Brian Nesvik delivered these directives in a September 14 memo, stating that the ESA would now only prohibit actions "specifically intending to target an animal." The memo noted that a vessel inadvertently striking a whale was not considered a violation, as the vessel's course was not set against the whale. Similarly, the felling of a tree was not deemed a "take" of bats roosting in it unless the tree was being felled for the purpose of killing or capturing them.
This change in interpretation is drawing parallels to a 1995 dissent by Justice Antonin Scalia, who had criticized the ESA's broad interpretation.
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