An internal U.S. Fish and Wildlife staff memo said the incidental killing or injuring of a protected animal – otherwise known as a "take" – is now illegal only if it was intentional.
Erica Pencak, senior attorney for Defenders of Wildlife, called it an absurdly narrow interpretation of the term and described the change as "about as bad as it gets" for wildlife."
It would be legal to kill an endangered animal as long as you didn't intend to kill it," Pencak explained.
"The problem with this is that it narrows the protections of the Endangered Species Act so severely that the statute really can't work the way it was intended."
Pencak added the reinterpretation covers many activities regulated by the Endangered Species Act, such as logging, development, oil and gas drilling, road and dam construction and off-road vehicle use.
It comes after the Trump administration eliminated the regulatory definition of "harm" from the act, which prohibited the destruction of endangered species' habitats. The U.S. Department of the Interior asserted the change removes burdensome regulations from industries and private property owners.
The Endangered Species Act has saved 99% of listed species from extinction, including the bald eagle and grizzly bear. Pencak believes it would not have been nearly as successful if this new interpretation had been part of the law since it went into effect in 1973. She emphasized the great value of protecting endangered species and maintaining healthy, natural ecosystems.
"We really do depend on the environment to provide for us – everything from clean water, crop pollination, pest control, flood control," she underscored. "The survival of these species matter and the survival of these species is at risk."
Defenders of Wildlife and other conservation groups have sued to stop the harm rule from going into effect.