The US government has delayed the reclassification of Pillar Coral as “Endangered.”
The ruling was due to enter into force on February 18, but President Donald Trump’s executive order calling for a 90-day “regulatory freeze” has resulted in the reclassification’s entry into force being pushed back to March 21, 2025, according to a government notice.
In early 2021, the National Marine Fisheries Service announced a five-year review of multiple Caribbean coral species, including the Pillar Coral, to determine whether the listing classifications of these species were still accurate, according to the notice, which adds:
“Based on the findings of the 5-year review, we published a proposed rule to change the classification of the pillar coral from a threatened to an endangered species (88 FR 59494, August 29, 2023). We solicited peer review of the scientific information contained in the proposed rule from three independent experts from the scientific community who have expertise in pillar coral biology, ecology, conservation, and threats to the species; and we incorporated their comments prior to publication of the proposed rule. We requested comments on the proposed rule from the public during a 60-day comment period and held a virtual public hearing on September 26, 2023, at which we also accepted public comments. On December 17, 2024, we published a final rule to reclassify the pillar coral (D. cylindrus) from a threatened to an endangered species on the Federal List of Threatened and Endangered Species (89 FR 101993). That final rule was based on the information in the 5-year review, peer reviews, and public comments.”
Last month, the White House issued a memorandum instructing federal agencies to temporarily postpone the effective date for 60 days after January 20, 2025, of any rules that had published in the Federal Register but not yet taken effect, for the purpose of “reviewing any questions of fact, law, and policy that the rules may raise.”
