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The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service have filed a proposal to change the Endangered Species Act regulations.

The change was filed in the Federal Register April 17, 2025. The public can comment on the change by 11:59 p.m. on Monday, May 19, 2025.

The submitted “plain language summary” of the proposed change states: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service are proposing to rescind the regulatory definition of “harm” in the Endangered Species Act regulations. The existing regulatory definition of “harm,” which includes habitat modification, runs contrary to the best meaning of the statutory term “take.” The services are undertaking this change to adhere to the single, best meaning of the Endangered Species Act.

The Endangered Species Act prohibits “take” of endangered species by people, government entities and corporations. Congress defined “take” broadly to include actions that “harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture or collect” species. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has defined “harm” to include “significant habitat modification or degradation.”

The proposal is to remove “harm” from the definition and replace it with nothing.

To see the entire proposal, go to regulations.gov/document/FWS-HQ-ES-2025-0034-0001. To comment, go to regulations.gov/commenton/FWS-HQ-ES-2025-0034-0001.

To comment by hard copy, submit by U.S. mail to Public Comment Processing, Attn: FWS-HQ- ES-2025-0034, U.S. Fish and Wildlife, MS: PRB/3W, 5275 Leesburg Pike, Fall Church, VA 22041-3803.

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