Endangered Species Protections Rolled Back | Durham News

Durham News Today | 2 Min News | The Daily News Now! · Jul 18, 2026 · 1m

The Interior Department just gutted a key part of the Endangered Species Act, delaying automatic protections for threatened wildlife and opening the door for oil, gas, mining, and development projects to bypass safeguards. Critics warn this could doom species like monarch butterflies and alligator snapping turtles, while officials argue the law has been weaponized to block projects and hurt competitiveness. With economic impact analyses now required before designating critical habitat, corporations may sway decisions to allow development in vital areas. This isn’t the first rollback — similar…