On July 10, 2026, the U.S. Department of the Interior issued a final rule rescinding the longstanding regulatory definition of “harm” in the U.S. Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA). For over 50 years, federal regulations interpreted “harm” to include significant habitat modification or degradation that kills or injures protected wildlife by impairing essential behaviors such as feeding, breeding, or sheltering.
The new rule removes that regulatory definition, meaning habitat destruction alone would no longer automatically qualify as prohibited “harm.” The Department of the Interior claims this rule change will restore the ESA to its original intent, ending federal overreach.
As birders know, birds depend on their habitats to survive and thrive, and endangered species are often even more sensitive to habitat loss than more common generalist species. Protecting individual birds without protecting the places where they live is dangerous to conservation efforts and may undermine decades of successful conservation work made possible by the ESA and its longstanding interpretation.
The Endangered Species Act has played an instrumental role in the recovery of some of the U.S.’s most iconic birds, from the Bald Eagle to the California Condor, along with others that are less well-known but beloved by many birders and conservationists, like Kirtland’s Warbler and Piping Plover.
Bald-Eagle
Once reduced to just 417 nesting pairs in the lower 48 states, the Bald Eagle rebounded under ESA protections, habitat conservation, and the banning of DDT, allowing it to be removed from the endangered species list in 2007. Photo by © George Armistead.
Kirtland’s-Warbler
The Kirtland's Warbler recovered through decades of ESA-driven conservation that protected and managed its young jack pine breeding habitat while controlling Brown-headed Cowbird parasitism. The species was removed from the endangered species list in 2019. Photo by © Chris Sloan.
California-Condor
By 1987, only 27 California Condors remained in the wild. ESA protections supported an intensive captive breeding and reintroduction program that has increased the population to more than 500 birds. Photo by © David Trinks.
Piping-Plover
ESA protections have helped safeguard the beaches, dunes, and shorelines that Piping Plovers depend on for nesting, contributing to population increases in several regions while the species continues to face ongoing threats from habitat loss and disturbance. Photo by © Jonathan Ley.
Birders have long played an important role in conservation by documenting bird sightings through community science initiatives, restoring and protecting habitat, and advocating for the protection of birds and the places they depend on. It may be as important as ever for birders to help endangered and formerly endangered species through monitoring and advocacy.
To learn more, read the Department of the Interior’s press release.
Read the ABA’s initial statement.
Frank Izaguirre is Marketing & Communications Manager for the ABA. Frank runs the ABA’s social media, writes articles for the ABA’s website, and coordinates the ABA’s marketing strategies. Frank is also in charge of the Bird of the Year Program, collaborating with the Bird of the Year artist and writing articles that promote the Bird of the Year Program and conservation efforts related to the Bird of the Year. Frank appears regularly on the American Birding Podcast as a guest and occasionally as a guest host; he has written for Birding, and he has served as a mentor in the ABA’s Young Birder Programs. Frank enjoys local birding in bad weather and networking with birders around the world. He also loves looking for salamanders and moths. Frank and his wife Adrienne and daughter Maya live in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where Frank’s birding patch is urban Schenley Park.
