WASHINGTON— The Trump administration today finalized a rule removing nearly all habitat protections for endangered species. This decision will leave imperiled species at even greater risk of going extinct.

The Endangered Species Act prohibits “take” of endangered species, including actions that harm species. For decades, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service have by regulation defined harm to include “significant habitat modification or degradation.” The Trump administration’s rescission of this harm definition is a cynical attempt to open species’ habitats to logging, mining, oil and gas drilling and other destruction.

“Habitat destruction is the number one threat to endangered species and Trump’s decision to toss out the definition of harm is a death knell for America’s wildlife,” said Tara Zuardo, a senior campaigner at the Center for Biological Diversity. “If animals don’t have a place to live, they can’t live. Spotted owls, Atlantic salmon, Florida panthers and thousands of other species need protections for the wild places where they make their homes.”

The prohibition on habitat destruction has been pivotal to protecting and recovering endangered species and was upheld by the Supreme Court in a case that focused on the protection of old-growth forests for spotted owls. In ignoring this precedent, the Trump administration is opening the door for industries of all kinds to destroy the natural world and drive wildlife to extinction in the process.

“There’s no question that destroying the places endangered species call home will harm them,” said Zuardo. “Scientists from around the world are warning we’re in an extinction crisis with dire consequences for wildlife, us and our children. This decision makes as little sense as a kid who covers their eyes and claims you can’t see them. Pretending this crisis doesn’t exist won’t make it go away.”