The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced that the northeastern bulrush will be delisted as a federally endangered species on July 10. The agency first proposed delisting the plant in 2024.

The northeastern bulrush was categorized as federally endangered in 1991. At that time, there were 13 known populations of the plant across six states. There are currently 148 known populations in Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Virginia, and West Virginia.

Kendra Cipollini, a plant biologist at Wilmington College, stated that the decision was premature. She served as a peer reviewer for the 2019 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service assessment of the species. "To delist it completely is premature," Cipollini said. "I just don't think they did enough systematic study."

State agencies and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service partners conducted surveys for the northeastern bulrush in every state within its known range since it was first classified as endangered. Cipollini noted that many of the northeastern bulrush sites she studied in the 1990s are now gone or barely remaining. "Once it became endangered, everybody started to look for it, and they found more populations," she said, adding that "It's not a very charismatic plant, so not many people noticed it."

The northeastern bulrush typically grows around the edges of vernal pools and beaver ponds. It will no longer benefit from the prohibitions and conservation measures under the Endangered Species Act once delisted, beyond continued monitoring for at least five years. A U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service spokesperson stated that northeastern bulrush populations are unlikely to be destroyed by development, and that the plant would still receive some federal protections in non-isolated or non-ephemeral wetlands. However, the northeastern bulrush is not usually found in non-isolated or non-ephemeral wetlands. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced in March that it would stop regulating wetlands nationwide, following the Supreme Court ruling in Sackett vs. EPA in 2023, which rewrote the definition of wetlands under the Clean Water Act. The 2019 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service assessment considered development a discountable threat to the species. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service also stated that the northeastern bulrush may be absent aboveground for many years when conditions are unfavorable.

Research indicates that shifting temperature and rainfall patterns can disrupt the light and water conditions the northeastern bulrush relies on. Genetic studies of the northeastern bulrush show low levels of genetic diversity. Cipollini explained that while there are 148 populations, there are likely only 148 individuals as each pond probably originates from one individual that reproduces asexually. "Genetic diversity is key to evolution, and we need genetic diversity for species to be able to evolve to things like climate change," she said.

A 2025 study published in the journal Biodiversity and Conservation concluded that the northeastern bulrush is likely experiencing an extinction debt, meaning the species is destined for extinction even if the causes of decline are halted. The study found that its specialized environmental needs and limited seed dispersal put its long-term health at risk. Olivia Sterantino, lead author of the study, said, "A lot more study needs to be done on this plant before we can say, 'Yes, this plant is definitely stable.'" Sterantino also noted that there are limited resources for studying these plants, resulting in a lot of missing data. A U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service spokesperson stated that a need for further research is not necessarily relevant to endangered status, and that it is not necessary for all threats to a species to be removed for a species to be considered recovered under the Endangered Species Act. The northeastern bulrush will remain classified as endangered at the state level in its known range, except in West Virginia. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service noted that 40 species have been delisted since the start of President Donald Trump's first term in 2017. "There's probably more plants that need to be on that list, not less," Cipollini said.