Salmon need to return to their native rivers to spawn the next generation. Photo: Shutterstock
After overfishing, dams, pollution, and habitat loss cratered the Gulf of Maine population of Atlantic salmon in the 20th century, conservationists have endeavored to restore this once thriving species. Slowly, the beloved Atlantic salmon is rebounding. The Trump administration’s gutting of an Endangered Species Act regulation, however, could put an end to that progress. That’s why CLF and partners, represented by Earthjustice, are suing the administration to reverse its catastrophic decision and protect Atlantic salmon in Maine and other threatened and endangered species.
The Threat to the Endangered Species Act from the Trump Administration
One of the primary tools of the Endangered Species Act is a rule (a regulation directing agencies on how to implement a law) that prohibits harm to a listed species’ habitat. If you bulldoze, pollute, or block access to an animal’s home, that will obviously hurt its ability to survive. The Trump administration recently released a rule that denies this straightforward reality. According to this new rule, damaging a species’ habitat, even when it results in killing some of the animals, doesn’t count as “harming” the species.
The Trump administration first put forward this rule in April 2025. CLF joined more than 175 organizations across the country in speaking up against the destructive proposal. Unfortunately, the administration has plowed forward despite widespread opposition from conservationists, the public, and even some businesses across the country.
The new standard eliminates the definition of harm, but it doesn’t replace it with a new definition. Instead, it leaves everyone, including industry decisionmakers, confused about what, if any, measures are required to prevent “harm.” Without an explicit “harm” definition that includes habitat destruction in the regulations, the uncertainty will undermine the Endangered Species Act’s ability to protect the most at-risk species in the United States.
Allowing so much water to be removed from a river that fish cannot safely return to sea? Not harm. Failing to remove debris blocking a fish passage? Unfortunately for the endangered Atlantic salmon that call some of our Maine rivers home, that’s also not defined as harm any longer. The previous harm definition was a consistent standard for 50 years, but as industry and conservation groups alike try to understand what constitutes harm now, endangered and threatened species will suffer through trial and error.
The Threat to the Endangered Atlantic Salmon in Maine
Maine’s Atlantic salmon population are among the many species at risk from this attack on the Endangered Species Act regulation. Also known as the “king of fish,” salmon was a staple for the diets of Indigenous people in New England, who sustainably harvested the species. Once native to many coastal rivers north of the Hudson River and numbering in the hundreds of thousands, overfishing, pollution, and habitat destruction throughout the 20th century catastrophically depleted the population of Atlantic salmon in New England.
Today, New England’s wild salmon only exist in less than a dozen Maine rivers. Their populations are listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act, meaning they are in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of the waters in which they swim. Since habitat destruction is one of the primary threats to Atlantic salmon’s continued survival, the Endangered Species Act’s regulations protecting and restoring important habitats are crucial to helping them recover.
Salmon are born in freshwater rivers, travel to the ocean where they mature, and eventually return to their native river to spawn the next generation. Dams can block this process, particularly if they don’t have effective fish passages that allow salmon to bypass the dam and complete their life cycle. This new Endangered Species Act rule could sabotage longstanding restoration efforts to safeguard and restore Atlantic salmon populations. Atlantic salmon and all other endangered and threatened species deserve better than this.
How CLF is Fighting Back
Of course, many other at-risk species will suffer if this rule is allowed to stand, including sea otters, grizzly bears, and Florida manatees. Opening the door to habitat destruction puts these vulnerable species’ futures in peril. CLF is joining Earthjustice and a number of other organizations across the country to fight this terrible idea.
Winning this lawsuit will be a huge step toward stopping the Trump administration from using this regulation to gut one of the landmark Endangered Species Act’s primary purposes. It will give Atlantic salmon a fighting chance to rebuild their population, and it’ll help protect species across the United States.
How You Can Help
CLF has a long, proud track record of fighting for Atlantic salmon. We won’t stand by and watch as the Trump administration dismantles our hard work. Endangered species need all the help we can offer them. We’re going to keep fighting until we can ensure at-risk species have the protections they need, not just to survive, but to thrive for generations to come.
We can’t win this struggle without your support. Show the Trump administration that you don’t agree with their reckless, short-sighted actions. Please donate today to fund our legal advocacy.
