The new Trump Administration regulations that water down the Endangered Species Act could have a serious impact on the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
The Salisbury Daily Times reports that the Army Corp of Engineers says there were 113 animals and 45 plants that have been protected by act as of 2016.
In addition, the paper says that 514 native Maryland animals are considered at risk under the act.
The new regulations would end the blanket protection for animals that are newly deemed threated and would allow for economic costs to be built into any assessment – something that has not been included before.
The new rules also face opposition from 10 attorneys general including Maryland’s Brian Frosh who called the new regulations an assault by the administration on the nation’s environmental laws.
Senator Ben Cardin
Senator Ben Cardin has called on his colleagues to reject the Trump Administration’s new regulations that weaken the Endangered Species Act.
The Maryland Democrat is a member of the Environment and Public Works Committee.
Cardin said that the act has been of benefit in the recovery of the Delmarva Peninsula fox squirrel in Maryland.
He noted the law has been one of the most popular in the country.
Cardin vowed to fight the administration’s actions that fly in the face of the bipartisan will of the Congress.
