California Globe. (October 28, 2019) “Federal Government Endangered Species Act Revisions Means More Water to Central Valley Growers” Retrieved November 5, 2019,
In recent years as Obama left presidential office to be replaced by Trump, the new administration has added new more laid-back changes to the Endangered Species Act. In response to Trump’s attempt to dismantle the Endangered Species Act, California governor Gavin Newsom swiftly passed the Senate 1 Bill allowing “private citizens to enforce state standards” in the case that the federal government take action to decrease the predetermined state standards for the safety of the local ecosystems and biodiveristy. In the case of the smelt, the new bill permits the state to continue pushing water into the bay rather than going off course for agricultural reasons. With the new legal changes, the federal government hopes to prioritize local economies over a lot of threatened species that they believe to be generally just “under pressure” as well as changing the definition of what they considered to be a threatened species.
As we discussed in class, the delta smelt and the other organisms that will be affected by the new regulations under the ESA are important to the ecosystem and more than just creatures. The smelt for instance are vital indicator species that signify the health of the body of water as well as a critical aspect of the food chain and without could lead to a decline in other species’ populations. Although many people’s livelihoods depend on these waterways that are changed by the migration patterns of the smelt, situations like these reflect on the importance of compromises when it comes to environmental issues and the social or economic effects that regulations may have. Despite the biases of this articles mostly favoring Trump’s new rulings, it was interesting to hear another perspective describe the situation in California although the articles seemed to disclude many important details about the species it affects like the smelt.
The Trump administration has been notoriously lax surrounding environmental protection policy. This article is just yet another example of this. California has been a leader in pushing back against this behavior, which gives environmentalists hope to the future of native ecosystems. However, changing the classification of endangered species does prove to be concerning. Many species need time to recover even after they have passed the population mark of being endangered
I agree, I hope that through more legislation and our future elections we can support policy which actually aids endangered species like they should be. It may be hard to find solutions which benefit all people/animals but it is important to explore solutions instead of just ignoring species who need help.
The changes made to the endangered species act by the current administration are explicitly looking to expand national industries at whatever cost may exist in their way. These changes set a dangerous precedent that the rest of the world may follow, given a chance to do so. There needs to be an international body whose sole job is to regulate environmental action, much like the UN. Excellent piece!