An April Fool’s Joke Or Not? “The God Squad Is Overriding Protections For Endangered Species”

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Here at CleanTechnica we like to step aside and have a little fun on April 1 and tease our readers a bit. (See here, here, here, and here.) So, in keeping with that tradition, I’d like to test your ability to separate truth from tripe, to distinguish applesauce from argument. Consider, if you will, then, the following story. Can it be true that a rarely convened and largely mysterious panel of US federal agency leaders called the Endangered Species Committee — aka the God Squad — is deciding the fate of a number of species under threat of extinction?

Are the events I’m describing so over the top that they must be a bit of April foolery?

What is the God Squad? It was created by Congress in 1978 as a way to approve projects or actions that, knowingly, could cause a wildlife species to go extinct. With the power of life and death in their hands, the Endangered Species Committee has the power to decide the fate of a species protected by the Endangered Species Act — hence, its nickname: the God Squad.

The God Squad can grant an exemption to the Endangered Species Act if investigations reveal that:

• there are no reasonable and prudent alternatives to the proposed action;
• the benefits of such action clearly outweigh the benefits of alternative courses of action consistent with conserving the species or its critical habitat and such action is in the public interest;
• the action is of regional or national significance; and
• neither the Federal agency concerned nor the exemption applicant made any irreversible or irretrievable commitment of resources prohibited within the Act.

Wait! What is the Endangered Species Act, anyways? The Endangered Species Act was so innocuous it was signed into law by the duplicitous Richard Nixon in 1973. It established protections for fish, wildlife, and plants that are listed as threatened or endangered. It infused leverage to add species to and removing them from the list of threatened and endangered species, and it had the authority to prepare and implement plans for their recovery. It provided for interagency cooperation of listed species and for issuing permits for otherwise prohibited activities. It fostered cooperation with States, too, including authorization of financial assistance. And it implemented the provisions of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna.

In essence, the federal government must protect threatened or endangered species and their habitats to its fullest capacity, according to the provisions of the Act.

Okay, got it. But why should we care about endangered species, anyway? An endangered species is an organism, such as a plant, fungus, microbe, or animal, that is threatened by extinction. Healthy ecosystems depend on plant and animal species as their foundations. When a species becomes endangered, says the Endangered Species Coalition, it is a sign that the ecosystem is slowly falling apart.

Each species that is lost triggers the loss of other species within its ecosystem. Humans depend on healthy ecosystems to purify our environment. Without healthy forests, grasslands, rivers, oceans, and other ecosystems, “we will not have clean air, water, or land. If we allow our environment to become contaminated, we risk our own health,” the organization continues.

How does the God Squad decide whether to bypass the Endangered Species Act? Experts conduct an onerous assessment of the species under discussion and produce a biological opinion. Often, these experts hail from the US Fish and Wildlife Service or National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (I know what you’re thinking: it’s a flaw in this article, as the employees of these agencies have all been fired. Bear with me…) A lengthy trial involving expert testimony and judicial review follows. Any damage to the species through the underlying industrial action must be offset in the planning stage with workarounds that limit the risk.

How frequently has the God Squad met since it was created? Rarely. The committee has convened just a handful of times. In 1979 it allowed a workaround so that the Grayrocks Dam and Reservoir in Wyoming could be constructed. It didn’t matter that the dam would threaten the downstream habitat of whooping cranes. It must be said that in this case some mitigation measures were added to reduce the impact on the whooping cranes. Today whooping cranes are still an endangered species.

In 1992 the Bureau of Land Management wanted to enhance Oregon timber sales — who cared if it threatened the northern spotted owl? The God Squad growled, mused, and, ultimately, demurred, allowing exemptions for 13 out of 41 proposed timber sales. The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ordered discovery on the spotted owls case, suspecting that — wait for it — President George HW Bush’s administration had pressured committee members to approve the exemptions. Just when timber industry execs were waiting for the chainsaws to fire up, imagining new yachts, Bill Clinton was elected US president. He withdrew the exemptions before any timber sales could take place. Today spotted owls are still threatened.

Why does Trump want them to act now? In its first announcement, the Trump administration expressed interest in exempting certain endangered species protections to indulge Big Oil — it was needed In order to pursue more oil and gas exploration, development, and production in the “Gulf of America.” A later, more refined legal filing added the caveat that national security necessitated the exemption. “It is ridiculous to suggest that an exemption from the Endangered Species Act is needed for national security,” said Sally Jewell, who served as interior secretary under President Barack Obama, as reported by Bloomberg.

The US federal government has never previously sought an exemption to boost up the fossil fuel industry. But that’s likely to change quickly if the God Squad makeup is any indication:

• Secretary of the Interior Doug “Cut the Park Service employees” Burgum;
• Secretary of Agriculture Brooke “No such thing as damaging wetlands” Rollins;
• Secretary of the Army Daniel “Sure, I’ll remove minority promotions” Driscoll;
• Council of Economic Advisers’ Acting Chair Pierre “Get rid of draconian penalties” Yared;
• Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee “No deregulation too big” Zeldin; and,
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Administrator Neil “Sharpiegate” Jacobs.

Final Thoughts

The God Squad met this morning for the first time in nearly 35 years. The group did not hold an evidentiary hearing. It’s not necessary for a foregone conclusion.

Okay, I get it — this article wasn’t that funny as a bit of April Fools subterfuge. That’s because those of you who read articles about the climate crisis, biodiversity loss, ecosystem fragility, and corporate pollution wouldn’t question for a second that the God Squad is real.

Here’s the update about the proceedings this morning from the Courthouse News Service. It’s too mean-spirited to be a joke.

“In the first meeting of the Endangered Species Committee since the presidency of George H.W. Bush, the so-called ‘God Squad’ voted unanimously Tuesday to grant a sweeping national security exemption that shields the entire Gulf of Mexico oil and gas program from the Endangered Species Act.”

Resources

• “Endangered Species Act.” US Fish and Wildlife Service.
• “Endangered Species Committee: Code of federal regulations.” National Archives. March 27, 2026.
• “Extinction committee strips protections from rare Gulf whale.” Gabriel Tynes. Courthouse News Service. March 31, 2026.
• “Why is it so important for us to protect species?” Endangered Species Coalition. 2025.
• “Why the endangered species ‘God Squad’ is meeting after 35 years.” Zahra Hirji. Bloomberg. March 30, 2026.