Don't Let The Government Gut 50 Years of Wildlife Protection

Final signature count: 16

16 signatures toward our 30,000 goal

On September 14, 2026, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service issued an internal directive — the Nesvik memo — that rewrites how the government enforces one of the most important provisions in American environmental law. The memo narrows the Endangered Species Act's prohibition on "take" so that only deliberate, intentional acts against individual animals qualify as violations. Foreseeable harm caused by habitat destruction, land clearing, logging, and industrial development no longer carries the same legal weight it has for more than fifty years.^1,6

What the Law Has Always Protected — Until Now

The ESA defines "take" broadly — not just direct killing, but also harming, harassing, pursuing, and wounding protected species. For decades, courts and agencies have recognized that destroying the habitat a listed species depends on can constitute illegal take, even when no animal is targeted directly. That interpretation has been the legal backbone of wildlife habitat protection in the United States.

The Nesvik memo abandons that principle entirely. Conservation groups have noted that this interpretation has no precedent in the law's fifty-year history.⁶ It is not a technical adjustment — it removes the legal mechanism that has held industries accountable for foreseeable harm to protected wildlife.

Who Benefits, and What's Now at Risk

The practical effect is clear: developers, timber companies, and large-scale agricultural operations can now proceed with projects that predictably kill or displace listed species, as long as those deaths are not the stated goal.⁵ Areas previously off-limits due to the presence of protected wildlife could open to accelerated development.⁴ Coastal and offshore activities involving marine species now face far less regulatory scrutiny.²

The species most exposed are already fighting for survival. Sea turtles, Pacific salmon, imperiled bird populations — animals that have spent decades trying to recover from habitat loss — now face increased pressure with fewer legal protections in place.

No Public Comment. No Legislation. Just a Memo.

Because the Nesvik memo is an internal directive rather than a formal rule, it was never opened to public comment. Hunters, anglers, coastal communities, Indigenous peoples, and everyday citizens who care about wildlife had no formal opportunity to respond before the policy took effect. This is part of a broader pattern of dismantling wildlife protections through administrative action rather than the legislative process.^3,7

The FWS Director Can Reverse This — Now

The Endangered Species Act was built on the principle that human activity carries responsibility — that foreseeable harm is still harm. Narrowing "take" to cover only intentional acts strips the law of its most basic function and leaves listed species exposed to threats the ESA was specifically designed to prevent.

The FWS Director has the authority to rescind this memo without waiting for Congress to act. A growing coalition of conservation organizations is calling for exactly that.

Sign the petition now to demand the Nesvik memo be withdrawn and the full protections of the Endangered Species Act be restored. Endangered species cannot wait — and neither can we.