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The Biden administration is removing the definition of “habitat” for endangered animals and reverting to an understanding that existed before the government under President Donald J. Trump reduced the areas that could be protected for endangered animals.

The United States Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries can once again protect a “critical habitat” that has become unfit due to development or other changes but can be restored, in a single sentence from regulations.

The Trump administration has narrowed down the definition of “habitat” by limiting federal protection to places that can only sustain an endangered species, as opposed to a larger, historic habitat where the animal could one day live or live.

But wildlife officials say the Trump administration’s rule contradicts the conservation goals of the 1973 Endangered Species Act.

“For some species that are on the verge of extinction due to habitat loss or climate change and literally have not much habitat left, we need every tool in the toolbox to be able to preserve the remaining habitats that may be suitable.” Bridget Fahey, head of conservation and classification at the Fish and Wildlife Service.

A critical habitat designation does not restrict activities on private land unless it involves federal authorization or funding; federal agencies must ensure that the actions they finance, authorize or conduct do not destroy or adversely alter such habitats.

The move comes amid an intensifying biodiversity crisis, with an estimated one million plant and animal species worldwide facing extinction. The main cause is habitat loss as humans convert wilderness areas into farms, cities and towns. Pollution and climate change make the problem worse.

The Biden administration’s change is the first of several anticipated reversals of the Trump-era rules governing the Endangered Species Act. Authorities expect to revoke a second rule about habitat needs next month. In early June, they proposed a new rule that would strengthen species protection in a changing climate by allowing regulators to introduce experimental animal populations outside of their historical ranges.

But a separate, comprehensive set of Trump-era changes Environmental advocates say plans for how the Endangered Species Act of 2019 will be implemented remain unclear. These rules allow regulators to consider economic factors in decisions regarding species conservation; facilitate the removal of animals and plants from the endangered list; relax protections for species newly listed as “endangered” that are below the endangered level; and making it difficult to consider the effects of climate change while protecting endangered species.

These changes have been applauded by industry groups, including: tThe National Home Manufacturers Association, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, and the Western Energy Alliance are welcoming regulatory relief.

However, conservation groups filed a legal challenge to this set of rules in 2019, and this case is still pending.

“These harmful rules have been in place for almost three years and the Biden administration is still not in action,” said Kristen Boyles, an attorney for Earthjustice, a nonprofit environmental law group that has sued on behalf of a number of environmental organizations. “Agencies of course use them because they have to use the regulations in force,” he said, referring to government groups such as the Fish and Wildlife Service.

Biden administration officials a year ago announced its intentions to review changes. They are now awaiting the court’s decision regarding the 2019 regulations.

“We thought it best to wait for what the court has to say before taking further action, rather than proposing a rule that might need to be revised further based on a court order,” said Angela Somma, head of NOAA’s endangered species division. Office of Protected Resources.