By Mark Moran
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has changed definitions of certain terms in the Endangered Species Act, reducing protections for imperiled ocean-based wildlife in the process, including the massive orca. The administration has said it is trying to reduce federal overreach and make the act less burdensome.
Orcas, considered the ocean’s apex predator, are often called killer whales but are not whales at all. In fact, they are dolphins. Weakening protections in the law puts the animal, synonymous with Alaska’s Bering, Chukchi and Beaufort seas, in danger.
Jim Murphy, associate vice president of legal advocacy for the National Wildlife Federation, said under the changes, if a commercial boat hits an orca or a whale because it was operating recklessly, the operator will not be punished.
“Even if the boat hits the whale directly, unless it can be shown that the intent of the boat was to hit and kill the whale, there’s nothing that the ESA will do about that and that puts species at incredible risk,” Murphy explained.
The National Wildlife Federation is pushing back on the changes. Some rule changes have already been finalized while broader ones await congressional approval. Supporters of changing the interpretation of the law have called for more site-specific implementation rather than imposing a blanket federal law, which developers have argued could hinder mining, fishing and timber interests.
Murphy countered it is not a good idea to remove protections in exchange for short-term financial gain by commercial developers.
“That can make those activities cheaper. But of course, the cost is that we are going to lose a lot of species if we don’t take the measures to protect their habitat and we don’t take the measures to protect them from activities that incidentally harm them,” Murphy pointed out.
The rule update is the latest in a series of changes to the Endangered Species Act. In July, the Trump administration moved to reduce other critical habitat protections, saying they hinder the country’s efforts to achieve energy independence.
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