The Endangered Species Act is at risk: Speak up for wildlife

The Endangered Species Act is at risk: Speak up for wildlife >>

For more than half a century, the Endangered Species Act (ESA) has been a lifeline for wildlife in the United States and beyond—preventing the extinction of more than 99% of listed species and protecting irreplaceable animals like the polar bear, Florida manatee, bald eagle, and hundreds more.

Yet today, this proven law is under renewed threat. Over the past year, lawmakers have intensified efforts to roll back ESA protections.

The ESA Amendments Act of 2025 (H.R. 1897), introduced by Rep. Bruce Westerman, includes sweeping changes that would significantly weaken the Act and undermine decades of science-based conservation. If passed, this legislation would:

Cut permit reviews that allow listed species to be harmed or killed
Limit the consultation process that requires agencies to ensure their activities do not put species and habitats at risk
Slow the listing of species as threatened and endangered while fast-tracking delisting
Limit species’ habitat listing and narrow the scope of critical habitat designation.

These changes put short-term economic interests ahead of science, threatening the survival of our nation’s most vulnerable wildlife.

Now is the time to speak out against it. Contact your Representative with our provided form to urge them to vote “no” on this dangerous bill—and stand up for endangered animals and the habitats they need to survive. >>

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The US has been a global leader in protecting wildlife, largely thanks to the success of the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Since its enactment in 1973, the ESA has protected hundreds of iconic plants and animals, preventing the extinction of over 99% of listed species. This bedrock legislation is critical for the survival of endangered and threatened species across our nation.

The ESA Amendments Act of 2025 (H.R.1897) contains provisions that would severely weaken the ESA’s ability to protect endangered and threatened species. The Act would, amongst other rollbacks:

- Limit the consultation process that requires agencies to ensure their activities do not put species and habitats at risk by narrowing the range of effects that must be considered, requiring the least costly alternatives even when not the best match for species, and limiting the consultation action area

- Cutting the review for take permits that allow the harm and killing of species, while increasing the allowable take of threatened species

- Slow species listing while fast-tracking delisting

- Allow listing of species in only a portion of their range instead of their entire range

- Narrow the scope of critical habitat designation

- Weaken federal agencies role in management and elevating state data, regardless of quality

- Erode public accountability in management buy introducing considerations of “net worth” into the citizen enforcement process

Public support for the ESA remains strong. According to a survey conducted by the Beekeeper Group on behalf of the International Fund for Animal Welfare in June 2025, 84% of Americans say that it is important to them personally that the US focus on saving endangered species from extinction, and the majority of respondents also favor habitat protections for imperiled species.

As your constituent, I respectfully ask you to vote against this Act. The ESA should be maintained in its current science-based form. Protecting our endangered and threatened species now will ensure their survival into the future and preserve our districts, and our nation’s, wildlife and ecosystems.

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