On September 9, 2026, Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell, California Attorney General Rob Bonta, Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown, and Washington Attorney General Nick Brown co-led a coalition of 21 attorneys general in challenging two Trump administration rules that weaken federal protections for threatened species and the critical habitats that endangered and threatened wildlife need to survive.  

The first challenged rule eliminates longstanding automatic protections for newly listed threatened species. Under the administration’s reversal, species designated as threatened will no longer automatically receive protections against being killed, harmed, or harassed and instead may have to wait for the federal government to adopt a species-specific rule. The coalition argues this could leave newly threatened species—including potentially the Monarch butterfly—without meaningful federal protection when they are particularly vulnerable. 

The second challenged rule governs the designation of “critical habitat,” or areas considered essential to a protected species’ survival and recovery. The new rule would require federal regulators to consider excluding areas from critical-habitat designations when businesses claim that protection would impose economic costs. If the economic benefits of exclusion outweigh the conservation benefits, the government generally must exclude the area unless doing so would directly result in extinction of the entire species. The coalition argues that this change gives commercial developers, fossil fuel companies, and other industries significantly greater influence over habitat protections and could open ecologically important areas to logging, mining, drilling, and other development.

The attorneys general allege that the two rules violate the Endangered Species Act, the Administrative Procedure Act, and the National Environmental Policy Act and unlawfully prioritize commercial interests over the scientific and conservation purposes of the Act. The coalition is asking the court to vacate the rules and reinstate longstanding protections for threatened species and their critical habitats. 

From the beaches of Cape Cod to the peaks of the Berkshire mountains, Massachusetts’ diverse landscapes support thousands of unique plant and animal species that are essential to the health of our environment. As a mom, I will always work to preserve for the next generation the natural resources, economic opportunity, and public health benefits that come from the strong environmental protections the Trump Administration is attempting to strip away.Attorney General Andrea Campbell