Trump weakens wildlife law; critics vow suit

WASHINGTON, D.C.: The Trump administration moved on Monday (Tuesday in Manila) to weaken how it applies the 45-year-old Endangered Species Act (ESA), ordering changes that critics said will speed the loss of animals and plants at a time of record global extinctions.

The action, which expands the administration’s rewrite of US environmental laws, is the latest that targets protections, including for water, air and public lands. Two states — California and Massachusetts, frequent foes of President Donald Trump’s environmental rollbacks — promised lawsuits to try to block the changes in the law. So did some conservation groups.