Rescinding the Definition of “Harm” Under the Endangered Species Act

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior; National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Commerce.

Notice of proposed rulemaking; request for comments.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) (collectively referred to as the Services or we) are proposing to rescind the regulatory definition of “harm” in our Endangered Species Act (ESA or the Act) regulations. The existing regulatory definition of “harm,” which includes habitat modification, runs contrary to the best meaning of the statutory term “take.” We are undertaking this change to adhere to the single, best meaning of the ESA.

Comments must be received by May 19, 2025.

A plain language summary of this proposed rule is available at https://www.regulations.gov in Docket No. FWS-HQ-ES-2025-0034. You may submit comments by one of the following methods:

(1) Electronically: Go to the Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov. In the Search box, enter FWS-HQ-ES-2025-0034, which is the docket number for this rulemaking. Then, click on the Search button. On the resulting page, in the panel on the left side of the screen, under the Document Type heading, ( printed page 16103) check the Proposed Rule box to locate this document. You may submit a comment by clicking on “Comment.”

(2) By hard copy: Submit by U.S. mail to: Public Comments Processing, Attn: FWS-HQ-ES-2025-0034, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, MS: PRB/3W, 5275 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041-3803.

We request that you send comments only by the methods described above. Comments must be submitted to https://www.regulations.gov before 11:59 p.m. (Eastern Time) on the date specified in DATES . We will not consider mailed comments that are not postmarked by the date specified in DATES .

We will post your entire comment—including your personal identifying information—on https://www.regulations.gov. If you provide personal identifying information in your comment, you may request at the top of your document that we withhold this information from public review. We cannot guarantee, however, that we will be able to do so. Anonymous comments will be considered. Comments and materials we receive, as well as supporting documentation we used in preparing this proposed rule, will be available for public inspection on https://www.regulations.gov.