Trump administration moves to cut protections for endangered species

The Trump administration has issued a sweeping new directive that could see the unintentional killing of protected wildlife no longer treated as unlawful. A memo from Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) director Brian Nesvik distributed to FWS field offices earlier this week called for a reinterpretation of "take," a term relating to the pursuit, killing or capture of a species under the 1973 Endangered Species Act (ESA). The definition would now be altered to "affirmative conduct intentionally directed against a particular animal or animals," effectively excluding incidental harm caused by economic activities from being considered "take.