House members on Wednesday approved an amendement that allows new species to be added to the federal government’s list of endangered species.

The measure, co-sponsored by Rep. Colleen Hanabusa, eliminated a provision in a spending bill that would have blocked the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service from designating new specifies as “endangered.”

“If you interfere with the Fish and Wildlife Service’s ability to list and protect these species, they will move closer to extinction,” Hanabusa said in a statement released by her office. “Then, it will become more expensive and more difficult to save them.”

Hanabusa said that there are 69 species in need of protection in Hawaii, “more endangered species per square mile than any other place on Earth.”