Attorney General Bonta Opposes Trump Administration’s Proposed Rollbacks to Endangered Species Act Regulations

OAKLAND – California Attorney General Rob Bonta today co-led a multistate coalition of 19 attorneys general in sending a comment letter to the Trump Administration opposing four proposed rules by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) that would revise key regulations implementing the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 1973. The proposed unlawful ESA rollbacks would significantly weaken protections for a wide variety of critically imperiled species and habitat in California and across the nation. The proposed rollbacks would reinstate many of the same unlawful ESA regulations adopted under the first Trump Administration, which were challenged in court before being partially reversed by the Biden Administration. 

“Time and again, the Trump Administration has willfully jeopardized our environment by taking actions that will lead to the destruction of imperiled species and their habitats — all for the sake of boosting the profits of fossil fuel, mining, logging, and other corporations. This time is no different, as they attempt to gut the Endangered Species Act, one of our nation’s most effective legal tools,” said Attorney General Bonta. “We have and will continue to defend this critical federal law and protect our rare animals, plants, and the environment." 

The ESA is one of the nation’s landmark environmental protection statutes and is vitally important for protecting a wide variety of critically imperiled species and their habitats in California. For over 50 years, the ESA has protected thousands of iconic and threatened species, including the bald eagle, grizzly bear, and humpback whale. Enacted under the Nixon Administration in 1973, the ESA is intended — as the Supreme Court has described it — “to halt and reverse the trend toward species extinction, whatever the cost.” The Trump Administration’s rules would dramatically weaken current protections and reduce federal ESA protections, enforcement, and processes, putting these imperiled species and their habitats at risk of extinction.

California has significant interests in the ESA and its implementing regulations. As of October 2025, California has 324 federally listed threatened and endangered species that reside wholly or partially within the State. The ESA is also responsible for many success stories within the State, most notably the survival and recovery of the California condor, brown pelican, and gray wolf.

In the letter, the coalition criticizes the Trump Administration for its proposed rollbacks, which would significantly weaken protections for our nation’s most imperiled species by:

• Decreasing the likelihood that species would be listed as endangered or threatened and entitled to the ESA’s protections;
• Decreasing the likelihood that critical habitats would be designated as essential for the survival and recovery of such listed species;
• Reducing required consultations between federal wildlife agencies and other federal agencies, thereby reducing federal agencies' duties to mitigate the adverse effects of their proposed actions on listed species and critical habitat; and
• Repealing regulations that protect threatened species from harm, harassment, or death due to various human actions.

Attorney General Bonta is committed to protecting California’s rich and diverse ecological heritage.  Last month, he condemned the Trump Administration’s plans to approve offshore drilling operations off California’s coast. In September, he strongly opposed the Trump Administration’s proposed recission of the Roadless rule. Earlier this year, Attorney General Bonta also co-led a coalition opposing a prior federal government proposal to significantly weaken the “take” prohibition in the ESA.  

In sending this letter, Attorney General Bonta joins the attorneys general of Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia.