June 30 (UPI) — The Department of the Interior announced Friday that it is adjusting regulations to allow certain endangered species to be reintroduced to areas that are outside of their traditional habitat.
The new initiative will involve adjustments to a section of the Endangered Species Act.
“We, the U.S. Fish Wildlife Service (Service), revise the regulations concerning experimental populations of endangered species and threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. We remove language generally restricting the introduction of experimental populations to only the species’ “historical range” to allow for the introduction of populations into habitat outside of their historical range for conservation purposes,” the Interior Department’s Fish and Wildlife Service said in a filing.
“Reintroducing species of plants and animals back into areas where they have disappeared has been a regularly used techniques in wildlife conservation for decades,” the Interior Department said in a press release Friday.
“The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has finalized revisions to section 10(j) regulations under the Endangered Species Act that will help improve the conservation and recovery of imperiled ESA-listed species,” the Department said.
Interior Department officials said the initiative is part of the President Joe Biden‘s America the Beautiful initiative.
The White House describes the initiative as “a national call to action to work collaboratively to conserve and restore the lands, waters and wildlife that support and sustain the nation.”
“Updating this proven conservation tool will allow the service to keep pace with corresponding science, which has shown that climate change and invasive species are pushing plants and animals into completely new geographic areas for the habitat needed for their continued survival,” the Interior Department said.
Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said it is necessary to consider the effects of climate change when moving forward with future conservation efforts.
“The impacts of climate change on species habitat are forcing some wildlife to new areas to survive, while squeezing other species closer to extinction. The Interior Department is committed to using all our tools available to help halt declines and stabilize populations of the species most at-risk,” Haaland said.
“As we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Endangered Species Act, these new revisions will help strengthen our efforts to conserve and recover imperiled species now and for generations to come,” Haaland continued.