State & Regional

Record low number of endangered species protected in Trump’s second term

KPCW | By Sydney Weaver

Published April 7, 2026 at 4:15 PM MDT

This July 8, 2019, photo provided by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, Pacific Southwest Region, shows a yellow-billed cuckoo. Audubon experts are celebrating the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's recent decision to keep the western yellow-billed cuckoo under the Endangered Species Act, ruling against a petition for removal, the Arizona Republic reports.

In his first term as president, Donald Trump listed fewer vulnerable species for protection than any other administration since Congress passed the Endangered Species Act in 1973.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which administers the Act, added 22 species to the 1,700-species list in Trump's first term. The Utah News Dispatch reports none have been added in his second term.

Noah Greenwald, endangered species director at the Center for Biological Diversity said the numbers aren’t surprising. The nonprofit is part of multiple lawsuits challenging the administration’s attempts to circumvent the Act including missing deadlines for considering and listing species.

Greenwald said there is a backlog of roughly 400 species awaiting a federal listing decision. That’s due in part to funding cuts for the service and a 20% drop in staff under Trump.

The Endangered Species Act of 1973 is aimed at protecting imperiled plant and animal species from extinction and conserving their ecosystems. There are 45 plants and animals protected in Utah including birds, fish flowering plants, insects, mammals and reptiles.