Action Alert
On April 17, 2025, the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) proposed rulemaking to rescind the definition of “harm” under the Endangered Species Act. The plain language summary of this proposed rule states the following “The existing regulatory definition of harm, which includes habitat modification, runs contrary to the best meaning of the statutory term take.” This proclamation misunderstands a century of ecological research as well as the effect of time. A bulldozer may not directly kill an endangered animal, but the removal of the habitat on which that animal depends will undoubtedly kill the animal, only later in time.
Issues like this frequently draw concern in large western states or areas subjected to energy development. For example, the habitat needs of the lesser prairie chicken in the American west immediately come to mind. However, we should be concerned here in New Jersey as well. We are the most densely populated state in the nation, and yet our unique geography and forward-looking policies leave us with extensive habitat from the Delaware Bay Shore, through the Pinelands, and north to the Highlands. These New Jersey habitats support 22 federally endangered species and well over 100 more Species of Special Concern that could become endangered and be listed in the future according to the 2018 New Jersey State Wildlife Action Plan (NJ SWAP). Stating that habitat is not critical for wildlife in New Jersey would be absurd. For example, across the 3,083 pages of the NJ SWAP, the word “habitat” appears 26,800 times (or 9 times per page on average). Habitat matters for species as we’ve long known. We want to illustrate the importance of this issue with two species: the iconic bald eagle and the beautiful Swamp-pink.
In January of 2025, the bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) was removed from New Jersey’s list of endangered species following 40 years of concentrated conservation work. The recovery of the Bald Eagle is most easily illustrated by the number of active nests—back from the brink of extirpation, with only one active nest in the entire state in the late 1970s to 242 active nests in 2024. This data is also strongly supported by the New Jersey Audubon Cape May Bird Observatory’s long-term raptor migration and wintering counts. Surveys of salt marsh habitat at select locations throughout southern Jersey during the winter months since 2009 highlight a 271% increase in presence in just fifteen years, while 49 years of Cape May Hawkwatch data monitoring fall migration since 1976 show a dramatic increase—from an average of just 10 Bald Eagles during 1976-1980 to an average of 813 during 2020-2024. From a time when each Bald Eagle was noted for exact time, location and duration of observation to expected sightings daily, the recovery of the Bald Eagle is a success as the result of applied conservation policies and protection of habitat.
In contrast to the Bald eagle, the unassuming Swamp-pink (Helonias bullata) relies on undisturbed wetlands and produces dense clusters of pink blooms atop a tall stalk sprouting from a basal rosette. This plant blooms in late April and early May and lasts through mid-June and is one of the first food sources available to deer and other mammals in the spring. Runoff caused by development and agriculture on neighboring lands in addition to continued pressure of deer browsing poses a severe threat to this species’ continued existence. The data on Swamp-pink populations highlights the significant progress made in conservation efforts in Camden and Cumberland Counties. The installation of a deer fence in 2020 has led to a remarkable increase in flowering plants, with surveys in April 2025 recording 235 flowers as compared to just 2 flowers before the fence was installed. This rebound in population underscores the importance of protective measures. However, the current administration’s interpretation of “harm” in the Endangered Species Act, which could weaken protection for habitats, poses a threat to these gains. If such interpretations lead to reduced habitat safeguards, the delicate balance achieved in Swamp-pink conservation could be jeopardized, reversing the positive trends observed and harming the natural heritage of the Garden State.
Beyond the immediate “harm” caused by allowing destruction of the habitat on which endangered species may rely, we risk undermining fundamental education of how the natural world works. What are we telling our children through this redefinition? New Jersey’s schools lead the nation in environmental learning and climate action across all grade levels. As early as Kindergarten, our children learn to value habitats which provide plants as sources of food and shelter for wildlife and how our choices impact these environments and the life they support. In high school, our students learn that political and economic decisions throughout history have influenced unregulated development of natural resources. They learn to evaluate the impact of individual, business, and government decisions and actions on the environment and assess the efficacy of government policies and agencies in New Jersey and the United States in addressing these decisions. Our students also learn to investigate local and state organizations which we depend on to provide accurate and reliable resources and know that bad decisions ultimately reduce our own quality of life.
Through these examples, a simple fact bubbles to the top: species rely on habitat and ‘taking’ of habitat is ‘taking’ of species. Only limited imagination and foresight are required to see that limiting the endangered species act to direct extraction of visible individuals opens the door to long-run, slow-burn harm. When species are made extinct through eradication of their home habitat, they are gone. And that is “harm”. You can make your voice heard through public comment, which is open until May 19, 2025:
Authors
Alex Ireland, Ph.D. – President and Chief Executive Officer
David Mizrahi, Ph.D. – Vice President of Research and Monitoring
Brett Ewald – Director of the Cape May Bird Observatory
Allison Mulch – Director of Education
Kelly Wenzel – Director of Stewardship
