Seattle’s Call to Protect the Endangered Species Act

A key wildlife law faces major rollbacks as the public comment period ticks down.

A lynx with tufted ears sits alertly, framed by the hollow of a tree trunk, looking to the right in an outdoor natural setting.

Monty, a Canada lynx in the zoo’s Living Northwest Trail exhibit.

Photo by Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren / Woodland Park Zoo

There’s plenty to do this season—lights, shows, markets, food—but here’s one more important thing worth putting on your list.

The Endangered Species Act (ESA), the federal law that helped bring back the bald eagle and gray wolf, is now facing changes that could weaken its protections. The Trump administration has proposed updates to four ESA rules, and the public comment period closes on December 22.

Woodland Park Zoo, which supports more than 35 conservation projects in the Northwest and around the world, is urging Washingtonians to speak up for good reason. More than 80% of Americans support the ESA, and the law has a long track record of doing what it was designed to do, with 99% of listed species avoiding extinction. Locally, the zoo works to protect threatened wildlife such as western pond turtles, Canada lynx, Oregon silverspot butterflies and Pacific martens. These proposed rollbacks could make their recovery much harder.

Here’s what the rule changes would do:

1. Require consideration of potential economic impacts when deciding whether to list a species, putting financial and political interests ahead of science.

2. Remove long-standing protections for species listed as “threatened,” opening the door to habitat destruction or harm.

3. Shorten the time horizon used to determine whether a species needs protection, potentially ignoring slow-moving threats like climate change and habitat loss.

4. Reduce coordination among federal agencies on projects—including pipelines, dams, mining and roadbuilding—that may impact wildlife and habitat.

“Saving wildlife is at the core of Woodland Park Zoo’s mission, and the Endangered Species Act has enabled countless species to survive, recover and thrive,” says Dr. Robert Long, carnivore scientist and director of the Living Northwest Program. “Without the Endangered Species Act, numerous species would have been lost forever. They survive today thanks to federal protection. We need to preserve these protections for current and future threatened and endangered species.”

A person wearing a Woodland Park Zoo staff shirt holds a small turtle outdoors near a pond.

Western pond turtles are endangered in Washington and depend on continued conservation efforts.

Photo courtesy of Woodland Park Zoo

For anyone who wants to weigh in, even one comment helps. The zoo recommends submitting one comment if you have a minute, or all four if you have a little more time. Guidance and links are available here.

The deadline is December 22.