US cancels automatic protections for imperiled animals as critics warn of extinctions

The Interior canceled automatic "blanket" protections for newly listed threatened species, meaning each species now needs an individualized plan — critics warn this could slow safeguards and allow industry exemptions for drilling, mining and development.
Officials will now analyze economic impacts when deciding what counts as "critical habitat," a change opponents say could favor development while the administration says it will reward recovery and boost landowner cooperation.
About 30 species could be affected (including monarch butterflies and alligator snapping turtles); the administration is also shifting decisions to states for animals like grizzlies and has exempted some energy activities from ESA restrictions.