How federal changes to the Endangered Species Act could impact Illinois’ wildlife

SPEAKER_1 (0:01)

October 31st is coming up fast, and we need your help to keep WBEZ at full financial strength.

SPEAKER_2 (0:07)

With federal funding gone, your support plays a bigger role in keeping independent local journalism strong.

SPEAKER_1 (0:13)

You make sure important stories get told, that tough questions get asked, and that your neighborhood stays informed.

SPEAKER_2 (0:19)

So don't wait, we can do this. We're less than $400,000 from our target.

SPEAKER_1 (0:24)

Make your gift today at wbez.org/donate.

Sasha-Ann Simons (0:42)

Hey Chicago, I'm Sasha-Ann Simons, and this is In the Loop.

Be sure to listen all the way through the podcast for a breakdown of the day's top local stories. But first, Illinois is home to more wildlife than many of us probably realize. From rare mussels in our rivers, to birds, bats and plants that depend on pretty fragile habitats. Now, conservationists warned the Trump administration's rollback of Endangered Species Act protections could make it harder to keep some of those species from disappearing altogether. So, which safeguards are changing exactly? And how can environmental groups push back at the state and local level? In this episode of The Pod, we learn about efforts to ensure these plants and animals don't get left behind. At the table with me was Juanpablo Ramirez-Franco, WBEZ environmental reporter, and Sunny Nelson, Vice President of Conservation Science at the Lincoln Park Zoo.

Now, I gave a brief overview there, so here's Juanpablo kicking things off with more on the specific changes being made to the Endangered Species Act.

Juanpablo Ramirez-Franco (1:49)

Last month, the Trump administration passed a roll change to the Endangered Species Act, effectively deleting the regulatory definition of harm. And they didn't replace it. And that's tough because that harm definition previously made destroying an endangered species habitat illegal. Not anymore. And not long after that, it came out that the administration also plans to reinterpret what they count as a quote unquote take. That's basically the word for killing an endangered species, which previously was completely prohibited, at least until now, as the Trump Admin only wants to prohibit those takes that are done intentionally.

This is a complete and dramatic reworking of the ESA. Some experts are just calling a complete disaster.

Sasha-Ann Simons (2:33)

I'm wondering how we even got here in the first place, why this was something that was chosen to be interrupted by the administration. But for the person trying to still wrap their mind around this Juanpablo, tell us why this change to the Endangered Species Act matters.

Juanpablo Ramirez-Franco (2:48)

Yeah, there's no other way to put it. This is a huge deal. And part of it is experts say upwards of 90% of all species on the endangered species list are there because of habitat loss. And that harm definition was the sort of lever available to protect habitat. In practice, what that means is you could walk up to the nest or habitat of an at-risk species and trample all over it. And it's not illegal unless it was intentional. Experts are pretty much on the same page on this.

There's no good way to work around this.

Sasha-Ann Simons (3:22)

Habitat destruction is, as I understand it, currently the biggest risk to endangered species. So this rollback is pretty dangerous.

Juanpablo Ramirez-Franco (3:29)

It's bad.

Sasha-Ann Simons (3:30)

You are nodding over there, Sunny. I got to bring you in. I mean, talk about which endangered species are at risk here, in Chicago and elsewhere in Illinois.

Sunny Nelson (3:39)

Sure. So I can talk a little bit about Chicago and Illinois, but just to put it in context, the Endangered Species Act covers over 1,400 species in the US. So here in Illinois and Chicago region, there are about 30 species, including a local legend, piping plovers. Yes. Our friends. Our friends. Everyone loves the piping plovers. But even some bat species, some insects and plant species are at risk because of this now.

Sasha-Ann Simons (4:07)

The gray bat, right?

Sunny Nelson (4:08)

The gray bat.

Sasha-Ann Simons (4:09)

What about the rusty patch bumblebee?

Sunny Nelson (4:11)

Yes. People who love insects and thinking about our pollinators, what we need pollinators for, for our food sources.

So there are so many species that are impacted. And then the other thing I like to think about and point out is, there are also species that we don't even know about. And so these changes are effectively going to change how we think about research and how we go into looking for endangered species and species that are impacted.

Sasha-Ann Simons (4:36)

How concerned are you about that? The ones that we haven't quite tapped into yet and we don't know about?

Sunny Nelson (4:41)