Federal wildlife conservation officials are proposing, for the first time, to amend regulations that define what “habitat” means under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). It’s a clarification of law, and the closing of a loophole, that’s long overdue.
Despite the predictable outcry from environmental groups, the proposed habitat definition will likely help species conservation. The new definition simply states that if a species does not or cannot live in a certain area in its current state, it is not habitat. Moreover, the clarity provided by this new definition should decrease the amount of time and resources that federal agencies spend on defending (or attempting to avoid) lawsuits brought by activist groups.
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