Leaked Memo Reveals U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Plan to Exempt Accidental Killings from Endangered Species Act

A leaked U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) memo indicates a significant policy shift, proposing to stop treating accidental killings as violations of the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Conservationists warn this change would effectively dismantle the incidental take permit system, a core protection for threatened species, by prohibiting only direct, intentional death or injury.