The United States Interior Department, on Thursday July 19^th, 2018, has proposed changes which will lessen the environmental roadblocks for construction projects to obtain approval. Environmentalists are taking up arms against this motion as the potential changes would leave threatened species with less protection. The Interior Department is clashing the interest of economic development with the fight for environmental conservation.

More specifically, the proposed changes are to the Endangered Species Act of 1973 in an effort to make it easier for construction projects to get approval in areas with a fragile environment. It is also working to remove protections from threatened species as well as make it more difficult to move a species from threatened to endangered status. David Bernhardt, the deputy secretary of the Interior Department, is adamant that the proposals would not gnaw at wildlife protections. This plan is to be finalized after 60 days of public commentary.

Read more at The NYTimes