Trump really has it out for endangered species

In what is being called the biggest attack on the Endangered Species Act in decades, the Trump administration has proposed a series of new rules that would scale back federal protection of the animals and plants most at risk for extinction. The changes―released jointly by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration―include limits on habitat conservation and an end to automatic protections for species designated as “threatened.” The proposal also asks federal agencies to consider economic impacts when making conservation decisions—a perspective that strikes at the core of the act's effectiveness. As a whole, the rollbacks are another swipe at what has been one of our nation’s longest standing and most successful conservation measures, credited with saving such national icons as the bald eagle and grizzly bear.