Biodiversity science’s missing species
Charles C. Davis
期刊Science
类型Editorial
发表2026-09-17
卷期页393(6817): 1170-1170
收录2026-10-10
被浏览…
关键词Endangered Species Acthabitat lossdefinition of harmnational forestsloggingroad constructionbiodiversity conservationwildlife protection policy
标签—
This week in the United States, a Trump administration rule took effect that narrows the meaning of “harm” under the Endangered Species Act by abandoning a long-standing interpretation that recognized substantial habitat destruction as a way of injuring or killing protected wildlife. Actions that directly harm or destroy animals remain prohibited, but altering the places where they feed, shelter, or reproduce may no longer qualify as harm in the same way. This distinction makes little ecological sense. A species cannot be separated from the living system that sustains it. Destroy nesting trees, pollute a stream, or remove essential food plants, and the line between harming an animal and harming its habitat quickly collapses. This change is also not happening in isolation: The public comment period closes next week for the administration’s proposal to rescind the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule, which has limited road construction and timber harvesting across vast areas of national forest.

@article{davis2026,
author = {Charles C. Davis},
title = {Biodiversity science’s missing species},
journal = {Science},
year = {2026},
volume = {393},
number = {6817},
pages = {1170-1170},
doi = {10.1126/science.aem2760},
publisher = {American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)},
}· END ·