WASHINGTON, D.C. — December 18, 2025 —

This morning, concerned citizens, wildlife advocates, and national conservation leaders rallied on the steps outside the U.S. Department of the Interior’s C Street NW entrance to oppose newly proposed rule changes that would significantly weaken the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Participants delivered 250,000 public comments urging the Administration to protect the nation’s most imperiled species and ensure science—not politics—guide federal wildlife decisions. The 30-day federal comment period ends on December 22. 

The event featured remarks from Congressman Don Beyer, co-chair of the Endangered Species Act Caucus; Congresswoman Grijalva, and Lori Udall, environmental activist and Board Member of the Endangered Species Coalition. Each outlined the consequences of the proposed ESA rollbacks and the urgent need for stronger federal protections as biodiversity declines across the globe.  “For more than 50 years, the Endangered Species Act has been our nation’s most effective tool for preventing extinction,” said Susan Holmes, Executive Director for the Endangered Species Coalition. “At a time when wildlife faces unprecedented threats, weakening this landmark law would undermine decades of conservation progress.”

For over fifty years, the Endangered Species Act has held strong bipartisan backing and overwhelming support from the American people. “From its very beginning, the Endangered Species Act has had broad bipartisan roots and public support. When it was first signed into law in 1973 under Republican President Richard Nixon, the House approved it 355–4, and the Senate passed it unanimously, a remarkable display of commitment to protecting wildlife,” stated Lori Udall, Daughter of former Secretary of the Interior Stewart Udall and Board Member of the Endangered Species Coalition. “Decades later, polling consistently shows that majorities of Americans, across political parties, continue to support the Endangered Species Act and value protecting and recovering our most endangered species. 

Congressman Don Beyer added, “At a time of accelerating biodiversity loss, we should be strengthening the ESA to help recover imperiled species. The Trump Administration’s proposed ESA changes would seriously undermine recovery efforts, making it nearly impossible to move species off the ‘endangered’ and ‘threatened’ lists. These politically motivated deregulation attempts ignore both the science and the bipartisan intent of the Endangered Species Act, with devastating real-world impacts,” said Congressman Don Beyer.

The rally highlighted the impact of the proposed ESA rule changes, including reduced safeguards for threatened species and weakened requirements for habitat protection, the necessity of retaining scientific expertise within federal agencies to ensure decisions reflect the best available evidence, and the role of the Endangered Species Act as a cornerstone of American conservation, credited with saving 99% of listed species from extinction.