Federal Agencies Remove Longstanding Definition of “Harm” from Endangered Species Act Regulations
The final rule eliminates a decades-old regulatory definition, with federal agencies saying the change better aligns implementation of the Endangered Species Act with the law’s text.
Federal wildlife agencies have finalized a rule removing the regulatory definition of “harm” from Endangered Species Act (ESA) regulations, ending a decades-old interpretation that included certain habitat modification within the definition.
Published in the Federal Register on July 14, the rule removes the definition from regulations administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service. According to the agencies, the change is intended to better align the regulations with the language of the Endangered Species Act and current legal interpretation.
For decades, federal regulations defined “harm” to include significant habitat modification or degradation that resulted in injury or death to protected wildlife by disrupting essential behaviors such as breeding, feeding or sheltering. The final rule removes that regulatory definition but does not change the text of the Endangered Species Act itself.
In the Federal Register notice, the agencies state that the previous definition extended beyond what they now consider the best reading of the statute. They also note that other ESA regulations remain unchanged and that the rule affects only the regulatory definition of “harm.”
The agencies reviewed public comments before issuing the final rule and included responses in the Federal Register notice.
The rule takes effect Aug. 13, 2026.
The complete rule is available in the Federal Register:
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/07/14/2026-14195/rescinding-the-definition-of-harm-under-the-endangered-species-act
