Maine Audubon | Natural Resources Council of Maine | Maine Conservation Voters
Maine Rivers | Environment Maine | Maine Unitarian Universalist State Advocacy Network Sierra Club Maine | Maine Association of Conservation Commissions
RESTORE: The North Woods | Maine Youth for Climate Justice
Momentum Conservation | Friends of Casco Bay
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MAINE GROUPS CONDEMN FEDERAL ATTACKS ON THE ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT
October 1, 2026 – Conservation groups across Maine have come together to condemn ongoing attacks from the Trump Administration on the nation’s most beloved and successful wildlife protection law, the Endangered Species Act (ESA).In Maine, the ESA is responsible for bringing the iconic Bald Eagle back from the brink of extinction, and continues to provide a lifeline for Piping Plover, Atlantic Salmon, Canada Lynx, Roseate Tern, and many more. The habitat protected through the ESA also supports Maine’s traditions of hunting, fishing, and outdoor recreation that rely on a clean and healthy environment.
For more than 50 years, the Endangered Species Act has provided a critical safety net for species at risk of extinction and the habitats they depend on. It provides protections for more than 2,000 species, and public support for the ESA has remained over 80% for decades.
Yet despite its success and broad bipartisan popularity, the Trump Administration and its allies in Congress have relentlessly attempted to weaken the ESA.
- A September 14, 2026, directive from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) details a new interpretation under which incidental killing or injury of protected wildlife generally would not constitute an unlawful “take” unless the conduct was intentionally directed at the animal. Such an interpretation would be devastating to endangered and threatened species, which are rarely killed by intentional acts.
- In July 2026, the administration finalized a rule eliminating the longstanding regulatory definition of “harm” under the ESA, which had recognized significant habitat modification or degradation as a form of harm to protected species, and also eliminated the future use of the ESA’s blanket protections for newly listed threatened species and revised the process for designating critical habitat.
- In March 2026, the Administration made the unprecedented decision to call together the “God Squad” to provide the oil and gas industry with a blanket exemption from ESA compliance in the Gulf of Mexico. Additionally, hundreds of federal staff working on jobs related to the ESA were fired or let go as part of the Administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) efforts and other federal workforce cuts across 2025 and 2026.
Congress, too, has been working to weaken this vital law. One example is an April 2026 vote on H.R.1897, the ESA Amendments Act, which was postponed only after national outcry. Yet Congressional opportunities to protect the ESA also exist, such as Senate Joint Resolution 204 and H.R.9901, both of which would restore the previous definition of “harm.” We urge Maine’s congressional delegation to support these bills.
Maine has a long tradition of protecting wildlife and the places they need to survive. We should be building on that success, not dismantling the federal safeguards that have prevented species from disappearing forever.
Maine’s conservation groups call on Congress and the Administration to uphold, rather than weaken, the Endangered Species Act; maintain science-based protections for threatened and endangered species; and ensure that federal wildlife agencies have the resources and authority necessary to carry out the law.
Sincerely,
Nick Lund, Acting Advocacy Director
Maine Audubon
Luke Frankel, Woods, Waters, & Wildlife Director and Staff Scientist
Natural Resources Council of Maine
Fred Snow, Executive Director
Maine Association of Conservation Commissions
Nicholas Janzen, Director of Policy & Partnerships
Maine Conservation Voters
Landis Hudson, Executive Director
Maine Rivers
Ivy Frignoca, Casco Baykeeper
Friends of Casco Bay
Matt Cannon, State Conservation & Energy Director
Sierra Club Maine
James A. St. Pierre, Maine Director
RESTORE: The North Woods
Jackson Chadwick, Advocacy & Organizing Director
Maine Youth for Climate Justice
Adam Nordell, Conservation Advocate
Environment Maine
Jill Linzee, Chair, Climate Action Team
Maine Unitarian Universalist State Advocacy Network
Jessica Burton, Executive Director
Momentum Conservation
