for more than 50 years, decisions about whether to protect a species under the endangered species act (esa) were made by scientists. now, congress is increasingly prepared to overrule them.

experts warn that president donald trump’s second-term agenda — enabled by a selectively assertive congress and a supreme court that has wrested power from federal agencies — represents the most dramatic shift in endangered species protections since the esa was passed in 1973.

“there’s no science underlying congress saying, ‘we have decided to delist this species,’” said justin pidot, an environmental law professor at the university of arizona who served in the biden administration.

congress has only delisted a species once in 50 years — in 2011, a provision in a budget bill removed the gray wolf from the list in certain states.

“it’s really certain members of congress playing god with respect to the esa,” defenders of wildlife senior attorney jane davenport said.

there are currently three bills in congress that would delist nine species, bypassing the science-driven review process of the u.s. fish and wildlife service (usfws).

one of those bills, the lizard act, would remove the dunes sagebrush lizard — native to texas and new mexico’s oil-rich permian basin — from the endangered list and prevent the usfws from ever listing it again. the usfws listed the lizard in may 2024, citing “loss of habitat associated with oil and gas development, sand mining and changing climate.”

“it’s not just oil and gas companies (affected by esa regulations),” rep. august pfluger (r-texas), who introduced the lizard act, said. “it’s also solar and wind companies subject to these restrictions and regulations. they’re very frustrated with how long the process takes.”

pfluger, who represents much of the permian basin and receives more money from the oil and gas industry than any member of congress, said he decided to introduce the bill because democrats had “weaponized endangered species.” he has publicly accused the biden administration of listing the lizard to halt drilling.

“when the agencies act in a politically motivated way that is weaponized against the energy industry, farmers and ranchers, roads and bridges, then congress has to step in,” pfluger said.

‘canaries in the coal mine’

the esa created the nation’s system for listing “endangered” and “threatened” species, giving washington real authority to protect them for the first time. anyone can petition for a listing, triggering a scientific review and public comment. once listed, a species is shielded from harm and habitat destruction, and federal agencies must consult the usfws before approving projects that could jeopardize it.

j.w. glass, an epa policy specialist at the center for biological diversity, said carve-outs for individual species could become a slippery slope.

“a lot of times endangered species are canaries in the coal mine,” glass said. “if we’re working to protect them, we don’t have to worry about water pollution down the line.”

in his first term, president donald trump narrowed the definition of “critical habitat,” reduced the types of species harm agencies needed to consider in consultations, and axed protections for threatened species.

even as biden reversed many of trump’s first-term environmental changes, a big shakeup from the supreme court left agency rules vulnerable to litigation going forward.

in 2024, the supreme court overturned “chevron deference,” shifting the power to interpret ambiguous statutes from federal agencies to the courts. pidot said the change could produce court-made limits on the esa that would be far harder to reverse than agency rules.

pfluger welcomed the ruling, saying it reins in agencies that “didn’t collaborate with communities” or conduct “unbiased” research.

in the face of these changes, experts worry allowing species to dwindle could damage ecosystems and hurt local economies.

for example, davenport said many endangered species — including the dunes sagebrush lizard — eat insects, which farmers nationwide would otherwise need to spend billions to control. she added that species like the florida manatee — reclassified from endangered to threatened in 2017 — contribute significantly to ecotourism revenue in local communities.

“from a very practical perspective, one thing that this administration completely ignores and just shoves under the rug is the huge sectors of our economy that are critically dependent on healthy, thriving ecosystems and the wildlife species that share them with us,” davenport said.

according to a 2011 report commissioned by the usfws, natural habitats in the lower 48 states supply $1.6 trillion in annual ecosystem services — more than 10% of u.s. gdp.

like pfluger, the oil and gas industry has generally supported the esa, but has also publicly advocated to decrease regulatory burdens, especially by promoting voluntary conservation agreements over endangered species listings.

in a 2017 public comment to the department of the interior, the independent petroleum association of america (ipaa) wrote that “energy development and conservation can coexist” and noted that many of its members participate in voluntary conservation agreements.

“some subtle changes to the regulatory framework of the esa could fulfill its promise of protecting species for future generations,” the ipaa wrote.

the american petroleum institute, texas oil & gas association, chevron, conocophillips, and several other trade associations and petroleum companies did not respond to requests for comment.

a 2019 study published in the journal peerj found that 99% of species protected under the esa have been saved from extinction. still, some politicians argue the esa isn’t succeeding at its mission, citing low recovery rates. after all, according to a 2024 letter to congress from the center for biological diversity, the usfws currently faces a backlog of more than 300 species awaiting review, and nearly 50 species have gone extinct waiting for protection.

the center attributed the extinctions to insufficient funding, and wrote in the letter that the usfws should receive an additional $70.1 million each year to process the backlog.

but the trump administration proposed cutting the service’s budget from approximately $1.7 billion in 2025 to $1.14 billion in 2026 — a decrease of more than $500 million. the service has also cut more than 400 staff.

“congress says, ‘oh, look at the esa. it never recovers species. it throws up all these roadblocks. but also we’re not funding it adequately,” davenport said. “what we say is that the esa is not broken — it’s starving.”

‘still time to right the ship’

despite the esa’s challenges, davenport said it’s not all doom and gloom. defenders of wildlife and the center for biological diversity have filed hundreds of lawsuits against the trump administration, winning many.

davenport said individuals can submit public comments on proposed rules at regulations.gov, call their representatives and plant native species to support habitat.

“we’re trying to bring attention to these issues while there’s still time to right the ship,” she said.

duke university conservation ecology professor stuart pimm said americans should lobby their members of congress to support biodiversity protections.

“the reality is that we as a nation love nature, benefit from nature, and are healthier if we can spend time in it,” pimm said.

as for the dunes sagebrush lizard, texas a&m ecology professor lee fitzgerald said oil and gas companies can protect the species by using directional subterranean drilling and minimizing road footprints, since the lizard depends on contiguous habitat.

he said citizens can attend public meetings and write to industry groups to advocate for conservation alongside economic growth.

“it would be nice if we could get past this idea that the lizard represents this damaging policy that hurts people and hurts the economy,” fitzgerald said.