April 24, 2025  

After decades of overreach, a long-overdue change is on the horizon for landowners, farmers, ranchers, and exotic wildlife owners/breeders affected by the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and NOAA Fisheries have introduced a proposed rule to redefine the word “harm” under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Titled, “Rescinding the Definition of ‘Harm’ Under the Endangered Species Act,” this rule would return clarity and common sense to one of America’s most abused conservation laws.

The existing definition of “harm” includes indirect impacts like habitat modification—language that has allowed federal agencies and environmental activists to regulate private land use far beyond the scope of what Congress intended. This overreach has stifled rural livelihoods, blocked land management practices, and created unnecessary conflicts between true conservation goals and private property rights.

The proposed rule limits the definition of “harm” to direct injury or killing of a listed species—restoring the ESA’s focus on the animals themselves, not theoretical impacts on the environment. This change aligns the law with scientific integrity and recent Supreme Court decisions that restrict unelected bureaucrats from expanding their power through vague regulatory language.

Congresswoman Harriet Hageman (R-WY) rightly praised the proposed rule, calling it a “pathway to restore common sense.” She’s one of several leaders advocating for ESA reforms that truly protect wildlife without punishing people who live and work on the land.

This rule isn’t about “gutting” protections for endangered species. This rule would repair the abuse of a law that’s been stretched far beyond its purpose for far too long. This rule is an effort to bring the ESA back to its original mission: protecting at-risk species from real, demonstrable harm, not imagined or speculative consequences.

The comment period is open until May 16, 2025. Make your voice heard and submit

your public comment by clicking the Comment Portal below.