The framework the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing would authorize exclusions if the potential national security and economic benefits outweigh the benefits associated with protection.
This poses a particular threat to currently unoccupied historic habitat. Even if these areas are unoccupied now, they have the potential to support species survival, recovery, and longevity in the future. Paving the way for their destruction and degradation would be a massive mistake—one that inevitably drives future extinction and biodiversity loss.