The Endangered Species Act is one of the great success stories for both the environment and the government. Since it was enacted in 1973, the government has been charged with protecting not just species that were on the brink of extinction, but habitat critical for both endangered and threatened species.
When the Act was passed, there were as few as 400 pairs of bald eagles in the lower 48 states. Now there are more than 7,000. The gray wolf was down to perhaps 200. Now that’s 3,500. But those examples are just some of the more visible victories in an admirable list.
- The Endangered Species Act has been nearly 100 percent successful in saving species from extinction.
- According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 99 percent of the species ever listed under the Endangered Species Act remain on the planet today.
- A study published in the Annual Review of Ecological Systematics identified 172 species that may have become extinct during the period from 1973 to 1998 if Endangered Species Act protections had not been implemented.
That’s an impressive record. But keeping animals and plants from becoming extinct is not always the top priority—for some, anyway.
In control of Congress and soon the White House, Republicans are readying plans to roll back the influence of the Endangered Species Act, one of the government's most powerful conservation tools, after decades of complaints that it hinders drilling, logging and other activities. ...
"Any species that gets in the way of a congressional initiative or some kind of development will be clearly at risk," said Jamie Rappaport Clark, president of Defenders of Wildlife and a former Fish and Wildlife Service director under President Bill Clinton. "The political lineup is as unfavorable to the Endangered Species Act as I can remember."
Republicans spread the idea that the ESA disregards jobs and rips away private land. Neither myth has ever been true. But just like the animals and plants it protects, the ESA is a symbol. In this case, it’s a symbol of both government success and environmental concern.
And for that, it has to die.
Over the past eight years, GOP lawmakers sponsored dozens of measures aimed at curtailing the landmark law or putting species such as gray wolves and sage grouse out of its reach. Almost all were blocked by Democrats and the White House or lawsuits from environmentalists.
Now, with the ascension of President-elect Donald Trump, Republicans see an opportunity to advance broad changes to a law they contend has been exploited by wildlife advocates to block economic development.
One big point that Republicans press is that only 70 species have recovered to the point that they’ve been removed from the list of endangered or threatened species, and so lifted out of the Act’s control.
The counter argument? In just the 40 years since the Act was passed, 70 species have recovered to the point that they’ve been removed from the list of endangered or threatened species and so lifted out of the Act’s control. That’s amazing. In a world where extinction is racing ahead at an ever-quickening pace, the success rate of the Endangered Species Act is astounding. Wonderful. As beautiful as the creatures it saves.
The Endangered Species Act explicitly requires balancing species protection and people's economic needs. Once a species is listed, the Endangered Species Act requires that people and the economy be considered at every stage -- including the designation of habitat, the development of regulation, and the creation of alternatives. Plus, the Endangered Species Act actually helps the economy by protecting the ecosystems that provide food, medicine, flood protection and recreation. Hunting, fishing and wildlife watching employ nearly as many people -- 2.6 million -- as the United States computer industry.
But Republicans aren’t interested in actually helping the economy or the environment. They’re interested in painting the Act as an ineffective land-grab and maintaining the myth than any effort to protect the environment is an attack on workers.
Congress reconvened last week with two critics of the law holding key Senate leadership positions — Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso as the incoming chairman of the Committee on Environment and Public Works and Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski as chairwoman of the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
Pair those two with Scott Pruitt heading up the EPA, and the only species that won’t be endangered is the Republican lobbyist.