US Fish and Wildlife Service Finalizes Two Rules Revising Endangered Species Act Implementation
Published Friday, July 24, 2026
This week, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service finalized two additional revisions to regulations implementing the federal Endangered Species Act. The changes follow a recently finalized rule rescinding the regulatory definition of “harm” under the ESA.
One rule eliminates the option of automatically extending most protections for endangered species to newly listed threatened species, commonly known as the “blanket rule.” Instead, protections for threatened species will be determined on a species-by-species basis.
The second rule revises the process for designating critical habitat, allowing an area to be excluded when the benefits of exclusion outweigh the benefits of designation, provided the exclusion would not result in the species’ extinction.
Staff contact: Erin Huston, ehuston@cfbf.com.
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