As of early 2025, more than 1,300 species in the United States are listed as endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). For decades, the ESA has been the primary legislative tool for halting extinction, credited with preventing the loss of species ranging from bald eagles to black-footed ferrets.
But recent developments have raised new concerns about how long that protection will hold.
Since taking office earlier this year, the Trump administration has revived the rarely used Endangered Species Committee, informally known as the “God Squad.” This committee holds the authority to override ESA protections when economic or public interest arguments are deemed compelling enough, even if such actions would knowingly lead to species extinction.
The God Squad has historically been convened only in exceptional cases, with rigorous checks and scientific review. Under current orders, however, the committee is now being scheduled to meet regularly and has been tasked with identifying “obstacles to domestic energy infrastructure.”
At the same time, the administration has expressed support for a different kind of conservation model — de-extinction.
Following Colossal Biosciences’ recent announcement that it had produced the world’s first dire wolf pups using gene-editing technologies, Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum celebrated the moment as a turning point.
“Since the dawn of our nation, it has been innovation — not regulation — that has spawned American greatness,” Burgum wrote on X. “The revival of the dire wolf heralds the advent of a thrilling new era of scientific wonder, showcasing how the concept of “de-extinction” can serve as a bedrock for modern species conservation.”
While the achievement is remarkable, it’s important to note that the dire wolf genome reconstruction took years, and only three pups exist so far, all in captive care. (This also sidesteps the larger question of whether these animals are truly dire wolves or simply genetically engineered gray wolves.)
Meanwhile, other species are facing extinction on a much shorter clock. What follows are three native animals whose future has grown significantly more uncertain under the current regulatory climate.
1. Black-Footed Ferret
Once believed extinct, the black-footed ferret (Mustela nigripes) is among the most remarkable recovery stories in North American conservation. Native to the open prairies of the Great Plains, these elusive, nocturnal predators rely almost entirely on prairie dogs for both food and shelter. Their fate, historically and still today, is tightly bound to the survival of their prey.
By the late 1970s, habitat loss, widespread prairie dog eradication programs and outbreaks of sylvatic plague had pushed black-footed ferrets to presumed extinction. Then in 1981, a ranch dog in Wyoming unearthed a carcass that led to the last known population, which grew to about 130 individuals.
When plague struck again, only 18 ferrets remained.
From those few, a national recovery effort was launched, anchored by the National Black-Footed Ferret Conservation Center in Colorado. That painstaking work is now in jeopardy.
Earlier this year, key staff at the center were terminated as part of broader federal cuts, and critical funding for plague mitigation in wild habitats has been frozen. Plague remains an ever-present threat, capable of erasing years of recovery in a single outbreak.
Without the technicians who manage captive breeding and vaccination programs, and without support for tribal and field-based conservation, the species’ hard-won gains are now vulnerable to rapid reversal.
2. Red Wolf
Once ranging from Texas to Pennsylvania, the red wolf (Canis rufus) is now reduced to a single fragile population in North Carolina’s Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge. Slightly smaller and more slender than its gray cousins, the red wolf is a uniquely American carnivore and one of the rarest.
Around 15 red wolves remain in the wild today.
Decades of captive breeding and carefully managed reintroductions had sparked hope. By the early 2010s, around 120 individuals roamed northeastern North Carolina. But that recovery unraveled after regulatory protections weakened.
Hybridization with coyotes, vehicle collisions and illegal shootings accelerated the decline. For several years, no pups were born in the wild. Conservation programs stalled, and federal agencies scaled back active management.
One bright spot came with the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), which allocated funds for wildlife crossings on highways like US 64, an artery notorious for red wolf road deaths. In 2023, North Carolina received a $25 million federal grant to begin constructing underpasses, backed by $4 million in additional funding.
These structures could significantly reduce collisions and reconnect fragmented wolf habitat. But in early 2025, the Trump administration froze disbursement of the BIL funds, putting the project in limbo.
Meanwhile, Colossal Biosciences has cloned hybrids of the red wolf with coyotes in an attempt to bolster their falling numbers, but this does little to address the cause of their decline.
For a species already hanging by a thread, even short delays matter. Red wolves face not only ecological pressures, but administrative uncertainty. Without continued reintroductions, road protections and legal safeguards, one of America’s most distinctive carnivores could vanish without a trace.
3. ‘Akikiki
Among the last echoes of an ancient avian lineage, the ʻakikiki (Oreomystis bairdi) clings to existence in the misty rainforests of Kauaʻi. Once ranging across the island, this small gray-and-white honeycreeper now survives only in the highest elevations of Kokeʻe and the Alakaʻi Plateau — areas increasingly under siege by invasive mosquitoes carrying avian malaria.
A species that numbered in the hundreds as recently as 2018 now has less than 5 individuals left in the wild. Without decisive intervention, the ʻakikiki may vanish from its native forest within months.
Captive breeding programs, launched with support from institutions like the San Diego Zoo, have preserved a genetically vital population of about 40 birds. Yet even this safeguard is vulnerable.
Releasing lab-reared mosquitoes infected with Wolbachia bacteria to suppress wild mosquito populations is the most promising strategy to help these birds grow their population in the wild today. The operation was set to expand with funding from the BIL, but now faces uncertainty amid funding freezes.
On Kauaʻi, the consequences are immediate. Field teams managing mosquito control, predator fencing and nesting site monitoring have been abruptly terminated. The abrupt layoffs of key personnel, including biologists at the Kauaʻi National Wildlife Refuge Complex, have left entire habitats unguarded.
With each passing day of inaction, the challenges facing the ʻakikiki become more acute. As field operations are interrupted and conservation timelines stall, the few remaining birds in the wild continue to face mounting threats. And without sustained support, the window for meaningful intervention may soon begin to close.
As more species move into the endangered list, how do you feel about the debilitating effects of climate change? Take a 2-minute test to see where you stand on the Climate Change Worry Scale.
