Environmental experts worry federal changes may harm Michigan wildlife
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LANSING - Michigan environmental experts say they're worried about the state's threatened and endangered species due to changes in federal policies.
According to the Department of Natural Resources website, officials say species at risk includes the grey wolf and birds such as the barn owl and cerulean warbler.
Emily Smith, the land and water conservation policy manager at the Michigan Environmental Council, said, "The DNR has done a lot to restore and protect (the birds') habitat and a lot of work to restore the wolf population."
Many birds' mating and nesting grounds can be at risk due to heavy logging but the state "has a proper forestry plan in place that protects these certain lands," Smith said.
However, "funding for such protections is scarce," she said. "The DNR is continually underfunded," and the department has to determine which programs to cut because of reduced federal funds.
Michigan is a Great Lakes state, so much work is being done to protect land, water and habitats, Smith continued.
Since the Trump administration rolled back funding and protections for critical habitats that many endangered species rely on, some states are struggling to pick up the slack, according to an article from Oregon Public Broadcasting.
Michigan has its own laws to help protect wildlife on the state's threatened and endangered list, which also covers some species on the federal lists.
The state prohibits hunting, transporting, buying and selling of endangered fish, plants and wildlife.
While federal protection has been rolled back, "a lot of these rollbacks have happened in terms of water protection. Some changes are about wetlands and streams that were previously under federal protection," according to Aaron Sullivan the director of wildlife programs at the Michigan Wildlife Conservancy in Bath.
"Protection programs are costly and funding is spread thin," she said, and if the issue isn't a priority, Michigan and many other states will continue to experience drastic negative changes to their land and wildlife.
The Trump administration has finalized changes to some rules under the Endangered Species Act. The new regulations removed a 'blanket rule' that treated species as "endangered," and instead now treats them as "threatened," according to a July U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service press release.
Critical habitats have also been subject to exclusions after the rules changed to allow removal from a "critical habitat" designation if doing so doesn't cause a species to go extinct, extinction of a species, the federal agency said.
U.S. Secretary of Interior Doug Burgum said earlier this year, "For too long, the Endangered Species Act has been weaponized to stop almost any new project in America, driving up costs for families, weakening our competitiveness, and undermining our natural security."