Conserving Habitat Has Always Been Central to the Endangered Species Act

AUDUBON • July 23, 2026

For more than 50 years, the Endangered Species Act (ESA) has helped conserve both imperiled species and the habitats they depend on, making it one of America’s most successful conservation laws. Through science-based decision-making, planning, collaboration, and sustained investment, the ESA has protected birds while providing practical tools that encourage partnership, regulatory certainty, and long-term recovery. However, a new rule rescinds the longstanding, bipartisan regulatory definition of “harm,” which for decades recognized that significant habitat destruction resulting in the death or injury of protected wildlife could violate the ESA. Audubon, together with more than 160 affiliated chapters and thousands of members and supporters, urged the agency in 2025 to retain the longstanding definition. We will continue engaging decision-makers to advance the bipartisan conservation principles that have made the Endangered Species Act one of our nation's most successful conservation laws.