Native America Calling: Tribes sue after feds redefine ‘harm’ in Endangered Species Act, upend decades of land conservation

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Native America Calling: Tribes sue after feds redefine ‘harm’ in Endangered Species Act, upend decades of land conservation

Monday, July 20, 2026

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Tribes sue after feds redefine ‘harm’ in Endangered Species Act, upend decades of land conservation

Conservation groups and at least two Pacific Northwest tribes filed lawsuits against the federal government after it redefined “harm” in the Endangered Species Act earlier this month.

Now, destruction of habitat is no longer considered “harm” to endangered wildlife. Supporters of the move say it lifts burdensome restrictions to land management and development.

Environmental groups and tribes like the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community and the Squaxin Island Tribe say it puts endangered species, like Chinook salmon, and the environment they depend on in even greater danger.

Swinomish and Squaxin Island Tribes File Lawsuit Challenging Recission of ESA Harm Rule

Chinook salmon range from San Francisco Bay in California to north of the Bering Strait in Alaska, and the waters of Canada and Russia. According to the federal government, nine populations of Chinook salmon are listed under the Endangered Species Act as either threatened or endangered. Photo: Dan Cox / U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Guests on Native America Calling

Cheyenne Skye Branscum (Citizen Potawatomi Nation), Sierra Club president of the board of directors

Dr. Victoria Sutton (Lumbee), distinguished Horn Professor at Texas Tech University school of Law

Brenna Yellowthunder (Ho-Chunk and Diné), Keep It In the Ground coordinator for the Indigenous Environmental Network

Wyatt Golding, attorney at Ziontz Chestnut for the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community

Kristin Boyles, managing attorney with Earthjustice