On July 14, 2026, the US Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service (together, Services) issued a final rule rescinding the regulatory definition of “harm” under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and thereby shifting its interpretation of the ESA’s “take” prohibition to no longer extend to habitat modification. This rule marks the administration’s latest protected species-related deregulatory action and will become effective 60 days after publication, on September 14, 2026. The final rule is highly controversial and has already drawn legal challenges in three different suits.
