GALVESTON (AP) – One of the world\u2019s rarest whales lives in only one place: the Gulf of Mexico, where the Trump administration wants to expand oil and gas drilling that scientists fear could push the giant mammal to extinction.<\/p>\n
Endangered Rice\u2019s whales live their entire lives in the gulf, where they\u2019re vulnerable to vessel strikes, noise pollution, oil spills and climate change \u2014 all of which could increase with more drilling, scientists said. Other animals, including threatened manatees and endangered sea turtles, also could be put at risk, experts said.<\/p>\n
As the Iran war pushes energy prices sharply higher, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth invoked national security in seeking an exemption from endangered species laws, which make it illegal to harm or kill species on a protected list. The seldom-used Endangered Species Committee granted that request on Tuesday.
\nWhat is known about the Rice\u2019s whale?<\/p>\n
It\u2019s the only whale species that lives year-round in the Gulf of Mexico, where there are fewer than 100 \u2014 and possibly fewer than 50 \u2014 left, scientists said.<\/p>\n
Recognized as a distinct species in 2021, the Rice\u2019s whale is usually found in a narrow area in the northeastern part of the Gulf, in waters 100 to 400 meters (328 to 1,312 feet) deep.<\/p>\n
Many climate change impacts are \u201cbaked in,\u201d meaning they will persist even if fossil fuels were eliminated today, said Letise LaFeir, chief of conservation and stewardship at the New England Aquarium.<\/p>\n
But the Trump administration proposal \u201cis just compounding the immediate risks locally and the longer-term risks,\u201d LaFeir said.
\nWhat about other species?<\/p>\n
Although a government filing specifically mentions Rice\u2019s whales, other threatened and endangered animals also could be harmed by oil spills or other dangers, scientists said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe ocean is connected, so when there is this kind of action somewhere else, it does have implications across the waters,\u201d LaFeir said.<\/p>\n
For example, hundreds of sea turtles \u2014 including endangered Kemp\u2019s Ridley and loggerheads \u2014 are rescued and rehabilitated every year before they are released into the Atlantic Ocean and swim for their nesting grounds in the Gulf, she said.<\/p>\n
Michael Jasny, director of the Natural Resources Defense Council\u2019s marine mammal protection project, said consequences could be far-reaching.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s \u2026 sea turtles, it\u2019s manatees, it\u2019s whooping cranes, it\u2019s various seabirds, it\u2019s Rice\u2019s whales, it\u2019s sperm whales, it is endangered corals,\u201d he said. \u201cIt is every endangered or threatened species in the Gulf of Mexico.\u201d
\nWhat is the \u2018God Squad?\u2019<\/p>\n
It was established in 1978 as a way to exempt projects from Endangered Species Act protections if a cost-benefit analysis concluded it was the only way to achieve net economic benefits in the national or regional interest.<\/p>\n
The seven-member committee is led by the secretary of the Interior, with five other federal officials and with affected states getting one shared vote. Five votes are required for an exemption.<\/p>\n
Before Tuesday, the committee had only issued exemptions twice. The first was for construction of a dam on a section of the Platte River considered critical habitat for whooping cranes, though a negotiated settlement won significant protections that led to overall ecosystem improvements. The second was for logging in northern spotted owl habitat, but the request was withdrawn after environmental groups sued, arguing that the committee\u2019s decision was political and violated legal procedures.<\/p>\n
Jasny fears the Trump administration wants to eliminate rigorous scrutiny of future exemptions and \u201cturn this \u2026 into a thing that could be invoked at any time, almost for any purpose.\u201d<\/p>\n
If it can be done for drilling in the Gulf, he said, \u201cwhy not California? Why not Alaska?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you can declare an emergency to just kill sea turtles and manatees and whales in the Gulf, you know no species is safe.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
GALVESTON (AP) – One of the world\u2019s rarest whales lives in only one place: the Gulf of Mexico, where the Trump administration wants to expand oil and gas drilling that scientists fear could push the giant mammal to extinction. Endangered Rice\u2019s whales live their entire lives in the gulf, where they\u2019re vulnerable to vessel strikes, … Continue reading Things to know about Rice\u2019s whale, rare species in way of Trump plans for more Gulf drilling<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":65,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2851],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1492781","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-state-news-archive"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-06 20:29:29","action":"change-status","newStatus":"trash","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1492781","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/65"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1492781"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1492781\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1493173,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1492781\/revisions\/1493173"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1492781"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1492781"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1492781"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}