State Attorney General William Tong says Connecticut has joined 16 other states, the District of Columbia and New York City in challenging the Trump administration’s new rules for the Endangered Species Act.
Standing on the banks of the Connecticut River in Hartford, overlooking nesting bald eagles, State Attorney General William Tong criticized the U.S. Department of the Interior for rolling back enforcement and altering the Endangered Species Act.
“There are at least 14 different species, birds, animals, that are either threatened or endangered here in Connecticut alone. And sometimes people say, ‘William, why don’t you focus on local issues?’ These are local issues.”
The protections have been in place since the Nixon administration, more than 45 years ago. Tong says they are critical to preserving the local ecosystem.
“The Connecticut River is a local issue, the bald eagle is a local issue. These are local issues that are really critical for us to fight for.”
The lawsuit alleges that the new federal rules inject unnecessary economic considerations into determining which species are endangered and need to be protected.
