OLYMPIA, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – Washington is co-leading a pair of multi-state lawsuits pushing back against federal changes to the Endangered Species Act.

Washington State Attorney General Nick Brown announced the suits in a virtual press conference with California Attorney General Rob Bonta on Wednesday, Sept. 9. They were filed against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS).

Brown says the protections at stake are critical to saving the state’s Southern Resident orca and salmon populations.

“We’ve seen, because in our state, how important salmon are to our history and the clear relationship between habitat destruction and population decline of our salmon population,” Brown said at the press conference.

The first lawsuit was made in response to a change in the regulatory definition of “harm,” which Brown claims will reduce habitat protections for endangered species.

The other suit targets a pair of new rule changes by FWS. One removes automatic protections for newly-listed species while the other creates a new process for designating areas as “critical habitat.”

The Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission has identified 37 species that are considered “endangered” in the state.