Headline Roundup • September 17th, 2026
Trump Admin Moves to Legalize Accidental Killing of Endangered Species - NYT
Summary from the AllSides News Team
The Trump administration has moved to legalize the accidental killing or injury of endangered animals, according to The New York Times (Lean Left bias).
The Details: The Times said it saw "an internal memo" sent to US Fish and Wildlife Service field offices on Sept. 14 that instructs a reinterpretation of the Endangered Species Act so only the intentional targeting of an endangered animal would be considered a crime. The Times said the memo gives a few example scenarios. It reportedly reads, "A vessel that inadvertently strikes a whale has not taken it, because the vessel's course was not set against the whale." In another, it says, "Felling a tree is not a take of the bats roosting in it unless the tree is felled for the purpose of killing or capturing them."
Story Framing: The Times framed the move as a "seismic shift" that has come "quietly." It said it would be "transformative" because in the US, "the killing of endangered animals almost always happens incidentally, in the course of economic activity," and that "until now, industries and individuals could be held accountable for those foreseeable deaths and, as a result, they have been incentivized to avoid them."
Previously: Back in July, the Trump administration rescinded the Endangered Species Act's definition of "harm," making it so that destroying an animal's habitat or nest was not illegal. This prompted lawsuits from 20 states and Washington, DC. The directive also took effect on Sept. 14 and sparked some pushback in Congress. On March 31, the Trump administration voted to exempt oil and gas companies drilling in the Gulf of Mexico from the Endangered Species Act.
How The Media Covered It: The Times's report was not widely picked up across the spectrum, though AllSides found coverage from Common Dreams (Left) and Newsmax (Right). Mainstream outlets have widely covered the Trump administration's July directive since it was issued, however, and continued to do so this week since it took effect.
Written by the AllSides staff (of humans). Learn more. Support our mission. Suggest an improvement to this summary.
Featured Coverage of this Story
In what would be a seismic shift, the Trump administration is quietly moving to strip a core protection of the Endangered Species Act, according to an internal memo obtained by The New York Times.
Under a new interpretation of the law's language outlined in the memo, the accidental killing or injury of an animal would no longer be considered illegal; only actions specifically intending to target an animal would.
Ozge Elif Kizil/Anadolu via Getty Images
"Hmmmm.... I've done a lot of horrible things lately. What is another evil, cruel, nonsensical idea? Ya know, one that would have irreversible generational consequences?"
That's how University of Alberta professor Timothy Caulfield responded to The New York Times' Wednesday reporting that President Donald Trump's administration "is quietly moving to strip a core protection" of the Endangered Species Act (ESA), according to an internal memo obtained by the newspaper.
The Trump administration is considering making it so the accidental killing or injuring of an endangered animal would no longer be considered illegal, The New York Times reported.
Such an interpretation would gut the Endangered Species Act, since it would no longer hold companies and people accountable for the deaths of endangered animals.
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