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Protect Endangered Marine Life From Reckless Offshore Energy Exemptions

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Sponsor: Free The Ocean

Endangered whales, sea turtles, corals, fish, rays, and birds should not lose legal protections so offshore drilling can move faster.

Close-up of a sea turtle swimming underwater with flippers extended.

Federal officials have exempted Gulf offshore oil and gas activity from key Endangered Species Act requirements, using a national security rationale to bypass protections for imperiled marine life.1

The exemption has triggered lawsuits from environmental and Gulf groups that argue federal officials stripped away required wildlife review for species already at risk from offshore drilling, vessel traffic, pollution, and oil spills.2

Marine Life Cannot Afford Another Shortcut

The Gulf is home to some of the most vulnerable animals in U.S. waters. Rice’s whales live only in the Gulf, and scientists estimate that fewer than 100, and possibly fewer than 50, remain.3

Other protected species, including sea turtles, Gulf sturgeon, corals, fish, rays, birds, and manatees, also face danger from expanded offshore activity and reduced oversight.1

BOEM Must Restore Full Review

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management says it manages offshore energy development in an environmentally responsible way and coordinates with federal wildlife agencies on Endangered Species Act reviews.4

That responsibility must mean more than paperwork. Before offshore oil and gas activities move forward in sensitive marine habitat, BOEM should require full ESA consultation, site-specific review, enforceable safeguards, and public transparency.

Recent lawsuits over BP’s Kaskida ultra-deepwater project show why strong review matters. Gulf and environmental groups argue that approvals moved forward despite serious concerns about safety, spill risk, and threats to marine wildlife.5

Endangered species cannot recover if federal agencies allow broad exemptions to replace the science-based review the law requires. BOEM must help prevent avoidable harm before it happens.

Sign the petition urging the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to require full Endangered Species Act consultation before offshore oil and gas activities proceed in sensitive marine habitat.

More on this issue:

  1. Matthew Brown, AP News (31 March 2026), “Trump officials exempt oil and gas drilling in the Gulf from endangered species rules.”
  2. Earthjustice, Earthjustice (2 April 2026), “Gulf & Environmental Groups Sue Trump Administration Over Decision to Exempt All Gulf Oil-and-Gas Activities from Endangered Species Act.”
  3. Matthew Brown, AP News (31 March 2026), “The rare Rice’s whale at risk from Trump plans for more Gulf drilling.”
  4. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, BOEM (31 March 2026), “Oil and Gas Protected Species Project Criteria.”
  5. Earthjustice, Earthjustice (20 April 2026), “Lawsuit Targets Trump Administration Approval of BP’s New Ultra-Deepwater Drilling Project in the Gulf of Mexico, 16 Years After Deepwater Horizon.”

The Petition

To the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management,

I am writing to urge BOEM to require full Endangered Species Act consultation before offshore oil and gas activities proceed in sensitive marine habitat.

Offshore energy decisions can shape the future of entire ecosystems. In the Gulf, federal officials have allowed oil and gas activity to move forward under a broad exemption from key Endangered Species Act requirements. That decision has already led to lawsuits from Gulf and environmental groups who argue that vital wildlife protections were improperly bypassed.

This is not a minor procedural matter. Endangered species review exists because some harms cannot be undone after a permit is issued, a project begins, or an oil spill occurs. Rice’s whales, sea turtles, Gulf sturgeon, corals, fish, rays, birds, and other marine species face real threats from vessel strikes, drilling activity, noise, pollution, and spill risk. For a species with only a small population left, each preventable death matters.

BOEM’s mission requires more than energy development. It requires responsible management of public waters, careful consideration of environmental impacts, and coordination with federal wildlife agencies. When offshore oil and gas approvals advance without full ESA consultation, the public loses confidence that science, transparency, and the law are guiding these decisions.

I urge BOEM to restore and enforce full Endangered Species Act review before offshore oil and gas activities proceed in sensitive marine habitat. BOEM should require site-specific analysis, meaningful consultation with wildlife agencies, enforceable protections for listed species, public transparency, and a clear refusal to treat broad exemptions as substitutes for legal review.

Humanity and compassion must guide decisions that affect animals with no voice in the process. Marine life should not be placed at greater risk because a company or agency wants a faster approval. Endangered species protections exist because the public has decided that extinction is not an acceptable cost of business.

Please use BOEM’s authority to require full review, strengthen safeguards, and protect vulnerable marine species before offshore oil and gas activity moves forward.

These actions will ensure a better future for all.

Sincerely,

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