The Trump administration is eroding protections for America’s endangered species. Here are five species under threat in the age of Trump.

Walrus

Pacific walruses, which are found in the Bering and Chukchi Seas that abut Alaska, are one the largest flipper-footed marine mammals in the world, with males weighing as much as two tons. The animals rely upon sea ice for breeding, feeding and nursing their young, and a place to evade predators.

This has proved problematic as sea ice recedes, prompting the Obama administration to name the walrus as a candidate for ESA listing in 2011. The Trump administration reversed course in 2017, a decision walrus advocates called a “death sentence” for the species.

Rusty patched bumblebee

The rusty patched bumblebee has vanished from 90% of its historic range due to use of pesticides and habitat loss. Photograph: Sarah Foltz Jordan/AP

A crucial pollinator of crops such as blueberries, cherries and plums, the rusty patched bumble bee has vanished from 90% of its historic range due to use of pesticides and habitat loss. The Trump administration put on hold a plan to protect the bee before finally relenting following a legal fight.

The administration’s revised ESA regulations, however, could make it more difficult to safeguard habitat the bee will need for its recovery.

Humboldt marten

The Humboldt marten is found in pockets of forest in California and Oregon. Photograph: Charlotte Eriksson / Oregon State University/Charlotte Eriksson / Oregon State University.

A stealthy forest-dweller about the size of a cat, the Humboldt marten is part of the weasel family and found in pockets of forest in California and Oregon.

Previously trapped for their fur and, more recently, pressured by the expansion of marijuana farms in California, fewer than 300 of the martens remain. Under court order, the Trump administration listed the marten as threatened but conservationists warn this will mean little if its proposals to provide lesser protection compared with endangered animals go ahead.

Leatherback turtle

The leatherback turtle. Photograph: Mark Conlin/Getty Images

Having to undertake huge transoceanic journeys before arriving on Florida beaches to lay and hatch eggs, leatherback turtles have come under pressure from rogue fishing nets, pollution and now climate change, with rising seas drowning nests and increased sand temperatures influencing the sex of offspring.

“Ten years ago leatherbacks were doing very well, there were increases all over the Atlantic, but we are seeing huge declines now,” said Dr Justin Perrault, director of research at the Loggerhead Marinelife Center. “Sea level rise is a big problem in Florida, the erosion of the beach is getting much worse. We will make things much harder for the turtles if we don’t do anything about climate change.”

Following a request from a fishing group, the Trump administration is considered whether to downgrade the leatherback’s protective status from endangered to threatened. Further habitat may be required for the species if it is lost due to climate change, although the proposed Fish and Wildlife Service regulations would do away with any requirement to do this.

Florida grasshopper sparrow

Conservationists have warned that the Florida grasshopper sparrow is the most likely candidate to become the first US bird to go extinct in more than 30 years.

Once a regular sight in central Florida, the species has entered a steep decline since the 1970s as the region was intensively developed for farming and housing. Just 22 females and 53 males were found in the wild in a survey taken in 2017.

A captive breeding program was established in 2014 to revive the bird, which is just a few inches long and weighs barely an ounce. The Trump administration has eliminated federal funding for this program.