#oldgrowthforests — Public Fediverse posts

It’s no longer illegal to destroy the one thing #EndangeredSpecies need most to survive

The Trump administration’s twisted definition of one word is putting hundreds of rare animals at risk.

by Benji Jones
Jul 20, 2026

Excerpt: "It’s the meaning of one of those words — harm — that matters most here. Up until the recent rule, the government’s definition for harm included destroying an animal’s habitat if it impairs essential behaviors, such as breeding. That might include, say, building a hotel on top of a beach that endangered sea turtles use for nesting. Such a definition was important because destroying the habitat of an already imperiled species could push it over the edge, #wildlife advocates say.

"What’s more is that, according to the language of the law itself, the purpose of the #ESA includes conserving '#ecosystems upon which endangered species and #ThreatenedSpecies depend.'

"The Trump administration, however, just threw out that definition of harm and the unambiguous protection it has long afforded habitat. And while it didn’t offer a new definition, the administration said that it agrees with a much narrower interpretation of the term — articulated three decades ago in a dissent by the late conservative Justice #AntoninScalia — that only includes actions that directly and intentionally harm individual animals, such as capturing a sea turtle to eat or keep as a pet.

" 'For years, federal agencies abused the ESA to obstruct lawful land use and burden American families and businesses,' #DougBurgum, Secretary of the Interior Department, which oversees endangered species protections, said in a statement. 'That approach turned routine activity into a regulatory trap, drove up costs that impacted people’s lives, and expanded federal authority beyond what Congress intended. This action restores common sense, respects private property, provides much-needed certainty for landowners and follows the statute Congress actually passed.' (The Interior Department declined to provide a comment on our reporting, pointing us instead to its press release and the notice in the Federal Register.)

"Under the new rule, set to take effect in September, 'harm' no longer explicitly includes actions that may accidentally or indirectly doom a wildlife population to extinction. A company building luxury villas on a private beach that endangered sea turtles need for survival would not unambiguously be considered take — and thus be illegal — unless the company knew it’d crush turtle eggs or the turtles themselves in the process. Neither would logging #OldGrowthForests that #EndangeredBirds inhabit, building wind turbines that are known to kill endangered bats, or constructing a road that would likely get endangered snakes run over.

"The administration’s interpretation of take 'really completely blows up the #EndangeredSpeciesAct,' said J.B. Ruhl, a lawyer at Vanderbilt University and a leading expert on the ESA."

Read more:
https://www.vox.com/climate/496053/trump-endangered-species-act-harm-rule

#ProtectTheSacred #ProtectNature #TrumpSucks #USPol #Extinction

From 2023: Explainer: What are your rights to #protest in #Australia?

by Amal Naser

"Which states have criminalised protest and what forms of protest are criminalised?

"#HumanRights organisations have been increasingly critical towards some Australian states over new legislation which seemingly targets #EnvironmentalProtests in the midst of a global #Climatecrisis.

"There are dozens of protest regulations across many states, with five (#NSW, #Queensland, #SouthAustralia, #Tasmania and #Victoria) introducing forms of #AntiProtest regulation most recently. South Australia's new laws, passed just last month, increase maximum fines from $750 to $50,000 along with potential jail time, and were prompted by disruption of an #OilAndGas conference by protestors in early May.

"In the aftermath of protests which sought to block port operations and shut down economic action to draw attention to demands for climate action, the NSW Parliament passed legislation which could see protestors face up to a $22,000 fine and/or prison for a maximum of two years. The legislation targets individuals who block major roads and new tunnels and/or disrupt #port operations in major ports such as #Newcastle and #PortBotany.

"In 2022, Tasmania passed anti-protest laws by way of the Police Offences Amendment (Workplace Protection) Bill 2022 under the guise of protecting Tasmanian workers. Under these laws, any protestor who obstructs a workplace during protests could face up to 12 months in prison, the Human Rights Law Centre reported:

" '…community member protesting the destruction of #OldGrowthForests on a forestry site could face a penalty of over $13,000 or 2 years in prison; and An organisation supporting members of the community to protest could be fined over $45,000.'

"Similar laws were also passed in Victoria. #AntiLogging protestors who 'hinder, obstruct or interfere with timber-harvesting operations' can face up to 12 months in prison and/or a $21,000 fine. PVC and metal pipes which are often used in protest activities are now prohibited in working sites, with additional powers provided to police to search suspect individuals who are 'reasonably suspicious'.

"In 2019, on public safety grounds, Queensland passed legislation which bans locking devices as modes of civil disobedience. These are tactics used to make it difficult for police to remove protestors and are often used by protestors to lock themselves to property and #pipelines to prevent construction of environmentally-harmful projects. Protestors face up to two years in prison and/or a $6,000 fine. It was rationalised on the basis of activists lacing devices with 'butane canisters' and other devices which were harmful for law enforcement. However, there is no evidence of the use of these devices."

Read more:
https://www.humanrights.unsw.edu.au/research/commentary/explainer-what-are-your-rights-to-protest-australia

#PipelineProtestors #BigOilAndGas #BigLogging #ACAB #RightToProtest #SilencingDissent #ProtectTheForests #AustraliaAntiProtestLaws #RisingTide