The Endangered Species Act Gets a New Name: Now Called the 'Recovery Act'

This bill kicks off by making a purely administrative, but significant, change to one of the biggest environmental laws on the books. Officially, the Endangered Species Act of 1973 is getting a makeover and will now be known as the Endangered Species Recovery Act of 2025.

Why the Name Change?

This section (Sec. 2) is straightforward: it simply renames the existing law, effective immediately. If you’re waiting for a catch or a hidden clause that changes how the law actually protects species, you won't find it here. The text explicitly states that this is a title swap, nothing more. Every time you see the old name—in court documents, federal regulations, official maps, or other laws—you are now supposed to treat it as if it says the new name instead.

Real-World Impact: Mostly Administrative

For most people, this change won’t affect your daily life, but it’s a big deal for the folks working inside federal agencies like the Fish and Wildlife Service or the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. They now have to update countless documents, databases, and regulations to reflect the new title. Think of it like a massive, mandatory find-and-replace operation across the entire federal government's legal library. While this is purely a paperwork exercise, it sets the stage for the rest of the bill, signaling a potential shift in focus—at least in branding—from just protecting endangered species to actively recovering them.