May 6, 2026 — The National Marine Fisheries Service has started a review that could remove the endangered status from Rice’s whales as the federal government has increased efforts to promote oil drilling of U.S. shores.
A Federal Register notice published Monday states a status review has been initiated to determine if Rice’s whales are accurately listed or part of a broader species, which could result in them being delisted or downlisted to a threatened species.
The action follows a March 31 federal order that exempted all oil and gas activities from following rules regarding the protection of endangered species in Gulf waters.