California Attorney General Rob Bonta co-led a coalition of 16 attorneys general in sending a comment letter to the Trump Administration opposing a proposed rule by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service (collectively, the Services) to rescind the regulatory definitions of “harm” under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA). This change, if finalized, would significantly weaken the law’s ability to protect imperiled wildlife, especially from threats to the habitat upon which these species depend for their survival and recovery. This would include destroying breeding and feeding grounds, polluting or draining critical water sources, or degrading habitat, even if those actions lead to the death or injury of protected ESA-listed species. “California is home to more than 300 species listed as threatened or endangered under the federal ESA, whose survival depends on the continued protection provided by the ESA. Not only would the proposed rule put our ecosystems in critical danger, but the Trump Administration would be making this change illegally. My fellow attorneys general and I will continue to defend laws that protect endangered and threatened species and the preservation of biodiversity. Both humanity and the species with whom we share this planet depend on it.” – AG Bonta