The Endangered Species Act has been the law of the land for more than 50 years and has long enjoyed bipartisan support. But now, key protections for some of America’s most vulnerable wildlife are being rolled back.

On Sept. 14, one of the most consequential changes takes effect: eliminating the longstanding definition of what it means to “harm” an endangered species.

The clock is ticking, but the fight is far from over.

In less than two weeks, the Trump administration is set to eliminate a key protection that has allowed the federal government to consider destruction of an endangered species’ habitat as “harm” to the animal itself.

Environmental groups are pushing back.

“So if we don’t speak and say no, then they’ll just do it,” one protester said.

“These changes take the teeth out of this law. And what is the value of listing a species if you can’t protect its home?” said Nora Ives of Oceana.

The administration says the change corrects decades of regulatory overreach. But environmental groups say it could open the door to development and other activities in some of the very places endangered wildlife need to survive.

“We need to preserve our natural treasures,” said Mary Lou Cristino Flores of the Florida Keys Surfrider Foundation. “We need to protect what we love, and we need to say no to offshore drilling projects that could continue to harm our Florida Keys economy and our natural wildlife.”

Here in Florida — home to more than a hundred federally protected species — the fight is intensifying.

“Protect gulf species, protect gulf lives!!” protesters chanted.

Over the weekend, that battle reached the Florida Keys, where environmental groups took to the streets to warn that what happens in Washington could soon be felt in their own backyard — and in their waters.

“This proposal is reckless. It puts our environment, our economy, and our way of life at risk,” one protester said.

“And so we want to call attention to that and call for restoring those endangered species act protections,” said Jewel Tomasula, national policy director of the Endangered Species Coalition.

But the fight is moving beyond protests.

Multiple federal lawsuits are challenging the rollbacks, with Earthjustice, Oceana and other conservation groups asking the courts to stop the new rules from taking effect.

“There’s no need to dismantle something that has worked for 50 plus years. And additionally, it allows human activity to go forward safely while protecting the species we all rely on for our ecological and our climate health,” Ives said.

The fight has reached Capitol Hill, too.

A bipartisan House bill would preserve the ESA’s longstanding definition of “harm.” Senators Adam Schiff and Sheldon Whitehouse have introduced a separate resolution to overturn the administration’s new rule.

“Right now there is a direct threat to Florida. Offshore drilling is being proposed right off our coastline, and the Trump administration needs to reverse plans and and not drill in the Eastern Gulf,” said Hunter Miller, deputy field director for Oceana Florida.

But conservation groups say getting lawmakers on board will take a groundswell of public pressure: loud enough that Washington can’t ignore.

“Our community is not going to be silenced. We want to be heard. These are the things that matter to us, and we’re going to let you know that we’re here,” one protester said.

“We will not be silent, and we will not allow anyone to play God with the endangered species of the Florida Keys. Wooooo!!!!” another protester said.

Conservation groups are now urging the public to make their voices heard — contact their lawmakers and tell them where they stand.

And with an election looming, how those lawmakers respond could have consequences at the ballot box.

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