U.S. Modifies Species Protection Process

Why it matters locally: This change in federal policy could affect how species native to Minnesota, such as the rusty patch bumblebee or the northern long-eared bat, receive protection, potentially requiring specific state and local agency collaboration on individualized recovery plans.

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WASHINGTON – The U.S. government has revised its approach to safeguarding imperiled species, replacing automatic federal protections with a requirement for individualized plans. Under the previous framework, species designated as threatened automatically received the same protections as those listed as endangered. Moving forward, the addition of a species to the threatened list will necessitate the development of a specific protection strategy for that particular species. This change means that federal agencies will no longer apply a uniform set of safeguards to all threatened species upon their listing.