2026-09-09 16:34:55 UTC / 路透社
作者：乔纳森·斯坦普尔
2026年9月9日 格林尼治标准时间下午4:34 更新于37分钟前
- 各州起诉政府缩小“伤害”的定义，称相关规定将商业利益置于动物保护之上
- 《濒危物种法案》曾助力白头海雕等动物摆脱灭绝危机
- 内政部驳斥“监管越界”，称应遵循法律文本
9月9日（路透社）——美国多州于周三提起两起诉讼，指控唐纳德·特朗普总统的政府非法削弱联邦《濒危物种法案》。这部标志性法律一直以来保护白头海雕及其他野生动物免受开发活动带来的威胁。
这起诉讼由20个州和华盛顿特区的民主党总检察长发起，距内政部和商务部公布最终规则不到两个月。这些新规据称将让开发商、化石燃料企业及其他主体更容易破坏环保倡导者认为需要加以保护的土地。
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在其中一起诉讼中，各州对一项缩小《濒危物种法案》中“伤害”定义的规则提出质疑。长期以来，该定义一直涵盖对濒危动物栖息地的侵占。新规则允许在这些栖息地开展石油钻探、采矿及其他活动，只要这些活动不会直接造成动物死亡或受伤。
另一起诉讼则挑战两项规则。其中一项规则取消了对新受威胁物种的全面保护，除非美国鱼类及野生动物管理局（隶属于内政部）制定针对该物种的专门保护措施。另一项规则要求政府在宣布某区域为“关键栖息地”前，必须考虑企业的反对意见。
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“特朗普政府试图破坏这部法律、国会的意志以及绝大多数支持濒危物种保护的民众的意愿，”华盛顿州总检察长尼克·布朗在新闻发布会上表示。“本届政府对我们的土地和水资源的态度不是守护，而是剥削。”
内政部抵制“越界监管”
两起诉讼均在加利福尼亚州北部的联邦法院提起，矛头指向鱼类及野生动物管理局和隶属于商务部的国家海洋渔业局。
诉讼文件尚未立即公开。环保组织也已提起诉讼，试图阻止修订后的“伤害”定义。
“联邦机构的职责是忠实执行成文的《濒危物种法案》，而非按照倡导组织的偏好扩大法律适用范围，”内政部发言人表示。
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“这起诉讼试图保留一项延续数十年的越界监管做法，该做法将《濒危物种法案》的适用范围扩大到国会授予的权限之外，”该发言人补充道。“内政部将积极捍卫其根据法律文本明确含义执行法律的权力。”
渔业局的一位发言人表示，该机构不会讨论正在进行的诉讼。
在共和党人特朗普的第二任白宫任期内，由民主党领导的各州已提起数十起诉讼，挑战其全面的政策调整。
州总检察长：后代将从该法律获益
《濒危物种法案》于1973年由国会通过，人们认为它曾帮助加州秃鹰、灰熊和座头鲸等动物摆脱灭绝危机。
削弱该法律符合特朗普减少监管的目标，他称这些监管束缚了美国企业的发展。
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这些举措包括缩减一系列环保举措和标准，例如减少政府对清洁能源的支持，以及废除前总统巴拉克·奥巴马政府认定气候变化威胁公众健康的科学结论。
许多野生动物保护者认为，栖息地丧失是动物灭绝的最大原因。
“我们欠后代一个这样的世界：白头海雕翱翔、海龟畅游、所有野生动物都蓬勃发展，”纽约州总检察长莉蒂夏·詹姆斯在一份声明中说道。
不再过度迁就联邦机构
内政部长道格·伯古姆曾表示，《濒危物种法案》已被“武器化”以阻止众多项目，削弱了竞争力、破坏了国家安全，并损害了美国人的钱包。
他表示，新规则使该法律更贴近其最初意图。
这些调整是在美国最高法院2024年推翻一项有40年历史的先例之后作出的，该先例要求法院尊重联邦机构对其所执行法律的合理解释。
周三的诉讼由华盛顿州、加利福尼亚州、马里兰州和马萨诸塞州牵头。其他原告包括纽约州、亚利桑那州、科罗拉多州、康涅狄格州、特拉华州、哥伦比亚特区、夏威夷州、伊利诺伊州、密歇根州、明尼苏达州、新泽西州、新墨西哥州、俄勒冈州、罗德岛州、佛蒙特州、弗吉尼亚州和威斯康星州。
乔纳森·斯坦普尔 纽约报道；辛西娅·奥斯特曼与戴维·格雷戈里 编辑
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US states sue Trump administration for weakening endangered species protections
2026-09-09 16:34:55 UTC / Reuters
By Jonathan Stempel
September 9, 2026 4:34 PM UTC Updated 37 mins ago
A bald eagle perches on a branch covered in snow during a winter storm in Nyack, New York, U.S., December 14, 2025. REUTERS/Mike Segar/File Photo
- States challenge narrowed definition of harm, rules allegedly putting business over animal protections
- Endangered Species Act credited with saving bald eagle, other animals from extinction
- Interior Department objects to ‘regulatory overreach,’ says it should follow law’s text
Sept 9 (Reuters) – U.S. states filed two lawsuits on Wednesday accusing President Donald Trump’s administration of illegally weakening the federal Endangered Species Act, a landmark law that has shielded the bald eagle and other wildlife from dangers posed by development.
The lawsuits by the Democratic attorneys general of 20 states and Washington, D.C. were filed less than two months after the Department of the Interior and the Department of Commerce announced final rules that could make it easier for developers, fossil fuel companies and others to disturb lands that environmental advocates say need protection from business interests.
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In one lawsuit, the states challenged a rule that narrowed the Endangered Species Act’s definition of “harm,” which had long included encroachments on habitats where endangered animals live. The new rule allows oil drilling, mining and other activities in those habitats so long as those activities do not directly kill or injure the animals.
The other lawsuit challenges two rules. One rule eliminates broad protections for newly threatened species unless the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, part of the Interior Department, creates species-specific protections. The second rule requires the government to consider objections by businesses before declaring areas as “critical habitats.”
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“The Trump administration is trying to undermine the law, the will of Congress and the will of the people who overwhelmingly support protections for endangered species,” Washington Attorney General Nick Brown said at a press conference. “Instead of stewardship, this administration’s approach to our land, to our water is one of exploitation.”
INTERIOR DEPARTMENT RESISTS ‘OVERREACH’
Both lawsuits were filed in federal courts in northern California, targeting actions by the Fish and Wildlife Service and by the National Marine Fisheries Service, part of the Commerce Department.
Copies of the complaints were not immediately available. Environmental groups have also sued to block the revised definition of harm.
“The role of federal agencies is to faithfully implement the Endangered Species Act as written, not to expand its reach through interpretations favored by advocacy organizations,” an Interior Department spokesperson said.
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“This lawsuit seeks to preserve a decades-old regulatory overreach that expanded the Endangered Species Act beyond the authority granted by Congress,” the spokesperson added. “The department will vigorously defend its authority to implement the law according to its plain text.”
A spokesperson for the fisheries service said that agency does not discuss pending litigation.
Democratic-led states have filed dozens of lawsuits challenging sweeping policy changes during the second White House term of Trump, a Republican.
FUTURE GENERATIONS BENEFIT FROM LAW, STATE AG SAYS
Enacted by Congress in 1973, the Endangered Species Act has been credited with saving animals including the California condor, grizzly bear and humpback whale from possible extinction.
Weakening the law aligns with Trump’s goal to reduce regulations that he says constrain American businesses.
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These include the scaling back of a variety of environmental initiatives and standards, including by reducing government support for clean energy and repealing a scientific finding by former President Barack Obama’s administration that climate change threatens public health.
Many wildlife advocates consider habitat loss the biggest cause of animal extinction.
“We owe future generations a world where bald eagles soar, sea turtles swim and all wildlife thrives,” New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement.
LESS DEFERENCE TO FEDERAL AGENCIES
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum has said the Endangered Species Act has been “weaponized” to stop a myriad of projects, weakening competitiveness, undermining national security, and hurting Americans’ pocketbooks.
He has said the new rules more closely align the law with its original intent.
The changes follow the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in 2024 to overrule a 40-year-old precedent that required courts to defer to federal agencies’ reasonable interpretations of laws they administer.
Wednesday’s lawsuits were led by Washington State, California, Maryland and Massachusetts. Other plaintiffs include New York, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia and Wisconsin.
Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Cynthia Osterman and David Gregorio
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