After a big break, I am back to break down an important topic! I am excited to share so many other topics with you all, but this issue can’t wait. There has been a lot of news about the Endangered Species Act (or ESA) lately, but what does it really mean? In 1973, the ESA was born. With this crucial piece of legislation, a path towards conservation and environmental preservation was cemented. While states are offered incentives to protect species and habitats on the endangered species list through this program, the ESA is headed at a federal level through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries Service.
The Endangered Species Act has been credited with many great successes in its 46 year history, but one of the most iconic successes for this program may just be our national icon – the bald eagle. While there have been many important conservation laws in the U.S. since the mid-1800’s, the ESA set a new standard with its robust protections for plant and animal species alike, as well as their environments. This law built upon the important foundations of the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, which provided crucial protections for all marine mammals, regardless of conservation status. The ESA has had some amendments over the years, most notably in 1982 and 1988. In ’82 an amendment was introduced to allow for captive breeding and reintroduction programs to help regrow threatened and endangered species. This was huge for zoo and aquarium conservation programs and was a catalyst for a much-needed shift from an entertainment focus to one of education and environmental protections in the field. In ’88 an amendment requiring stricter monitoring of recovered species as well as candidate species was introduced. This helped monitor the progress of species that had gone through conservation and provided a priority system for the species awaiting listing. This amendment also introduced emergency listing, which provided immediate protections for a limited time period.
Today the ESA protects more than 1,600 plant and animal species and has been successful in preventing extinction in 99% of listed species. While roll backs have impacted the Endangered Species Act since its creation, the most recent set could be the most devastating to the program’s effectiveness. While considering a species for categorization of endangered or threatened within the act, economic factors will now be considered first. There will also be changes prohibiting threatened species from receiving the same protections as those listed as endangered. Leading environmental figures are calling this a way to ignore the impacts of climate change on species persistence. As the ESA is revised, it seems all but certain these new rules will pave the way for increased mining and drilling efforts within the habitats of protected species. Luckily, these new changes are not retroactive, meaning species already protected by the act will retain their listing status. With major successes including reintroduction of grey wolves to Yellowstone National Park, the recovery of many species and the iconic delisting of the bald eagle, what will the future of this program hold?
There are 4 main challenges for the ESA to overcome:
- By the time species get listed, they are often in such a vulnerable state that recovery becomes a costly and difficult process.
- If a species gets listed, the ESA helps preserve it, but this means that it has not been properly preserved effectively by other regulations.
- The act prohibits harm to species, but does not require proactive management of habitats, which can deter conservation by landowners.
- Recovery plans are created and implemented but it is not mandated that enough resources be allocated to support these plans.
While the Endangered Species Act is the best piece of legislation we have come up with to provide protections for threatened and endangered species, it needs to do better to keep pace with the growing stressors we are placing on our environment. Our next problem to solve? How do we continue to strive for conservation success while more species are added to the ESA, but no more money is coming into support these additional species? The answer will be in increasing the efficiency, effectiveness and innovations of these programs to maximize their impacts.
I’m curious to see how these changes impact the act, if a bit skeptical and frustrated with the weakening of the ESA. The only way to learn what our environmental future will hold in the eye of this legislative act is to see what happens, but don’t fear, we can still make a difference as concerned citizens! How? Demand better, at a local, state and federal level. Ask congress to prioritize climate action, if your local representatives aren’t, make sure to vote for those will in the upcoming elections. Support programs outside of the government that work to preserve species. The world wildlife fund is a great organization that helps preserve our environment and critical species. Support your local zoo or aquarium, they often work within a global network of organizations to bring together education and conservation goals. Even making simple consumer choices can impact species conservation. If you’re grocery shopping, look for products produced without palm oil, or use the seafood watch website (or better yet, download the app!) to find the best choices for seafood, better yet buy endangered species chocolate if you’re craving a sweet treat. Our spending habits, big or small, create demand. That demand has the power to force change if we choose responsibly. If we all do our small part, I know we can create last change for conservation.
Biology Breakdown 