Environmentalists sue over Endangered Species Act rollbacks
Seven environmental and animal protection groups have filed the first lawsuit challenging the Trump administration's recent rollbacks to the Endangered Species Act.
Their lawsuit filed Wednesday in federal court in San Francisco comes after the federal government announced last week it was rescinding some protections for wildlife.
The groups include the Sierra Club, Natural Resources Defense Council and Humane Society. They argue that the Trump administration failed to analyze the effect of the new rules.
FILE - In this July 8, 2019 file photo President Donald Trump listens as Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt speaks during an event on the environment in the East Room of the White House in Washington. Seven environmental and animal protection groups teamed up to file the first lawsuit challenging the Trump administration's rollback of the Endangered Species Act. The environmental law nonprofit Earthjustice filed the lawsuit Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2019, on behalf of the Center for Biological Diversity, Defenders of Wildlife, Sierra Club, Natural Resources Defense Council, National Parks Conservation Association, WildEarth Guardians, and the Humane Society of the United States. The lawsuit comes after the federal government earlier this month announced a series of changes to weaken the Endangered Species Act. (AP PhotoEvan Vucci, File)
The Endangered Species Act has been credited with helping save several species from extinction, but Republicans have long pushed to change the law.
Christina Meister, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, declined to comment.
Spokespeople for the Department of the Interior and National Marine Fisheries Service did not immediately respond.
FILE - In this Oct. 20, 2017, file photo, John Miano of Destin, Fla., holds a monarch butterfly on his fingertip as he waits for the newly tagged insect to take flight during the Panhandle Butterfly House's Monarch Madness festival in Navarre, Fla. The environmental law nonprofit Earthjustice filed the lawsuit Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2019, on behalf of the Center for Biological Diversity, Defenders of Wildlife, Sierra Club, Natural Resources Defense Council, National Parks Conservation Association, WildEarth Guardians, and the Humane Society of the United States. The lawsuit comes after the federal government earlier this month announced a series of changes to weaken the Endangered Species Act. (Devon RavineNorthwest Florida Daily News via AP, File)