Wildlife: Endangered Species Act

 

 

A Cornerstone Environmental Law
The Endangered Species Act (ESA), is one of the cornerstone environmental laws in the United States.  The ESA has had a number of success stories that can make Americans proud. Perhaps the most famous species to receive the ESA's help is the bald eagle, the symbol of the United States of America. Recently de-listed from "endangered" to "threatened," the bald eagle is returning in parts of the Northeast and in other regions. Other notable animals include sea turtles, Florida manatees, Louisiana black bears, California sea otters, and black footed ferrets in the Northern Plains States.

 

Under the ESA, the Department of the Interior lists threatened or endangered species and develops plans to protect them and ensure the safety of their habitat. Once species are protected and stabilized, agencies draft plans for population recovery in order to be able to remove the species from the endangered list. 

 

Threats to Endangered Species

For years, the Bush administration has undermined and weakened the ESA . In 2004, the administration released rules foregoing consultation by the U.S. Forest Service on endangered species in fire protection plans and by the Environmental Protection Agency in reviewing pesticide usage. Before federal courts, the administration has provided lackluster legal defenses and contradicted established legal interpretations.

In the fall of 2005, former House Resources Committee Chairman Richard Pombo (R-CA), a longtime opponent of the ESA, passed a bill through the House to severely weaken the law at the expense of wildlife by removing critical habitat protections and politicizing the process of defining the “best available science.”  Fortunately, the Senate never took action on this harmful bill.  Even better, the new Chair of the House Resources Committee Nick Joe Rahall is a longtime champion of protecting wildlife, and the new Congress is far more sympathetic to protecting threatened and endangered species.