US Rescinds 50-Year-Old 'Harm' Definition Under the Endangered Species Act

The US Fish and Wildlife Service and NOAA Fisheries finalized a rule on July 14, 2026 rescinding the regulatory definition of 'harm' that had underpinned Endangered Species Act habitat protections since 1981 — coverage intensified in early September as the rule's September 12, 2026 effective date approached. The old definition treated significant habitat modification that impaired breeding, feeding, or sheltering as 'harm' to a listed species; the new approach limits 'harm' to direct injury or killing of individual animals or plants, so mining, logging, drilling, and development that destroys habitat no longer triggers ESA permitting requirements so long as no protected animal is directly struck. Conservation groups, including Earthjustice on behalf of nine organizations, filed suit in federal court in Seattle, warning the change could immediately affect Florida manatees, grizzly bears, Pacific salmon, northern spotted owls, Hawaiian monk seals, and the fewer-than-100 remaining Rice's whales in the Gulf of Mexico. A bipartisan House bill and Senate resolutions have been introduced to reverse the rule, which the administration says corrects decades of regulatory overreach into private and commercial land use.