Photo by A few decades ago, the bald eagle – the iconic symbol of the United States – was in danger. Habitat loss and degradation, illegal hunting, and contamination of food sources had taken a devastating toll on the species so that, by 1963, only 487 nesting pairs survived. The species was teetering on the brink of extinction.[teaserbreak]
But, in 1978, the bald eagle was listed as threatened and endangered under The Endangered Species Act (ESA), a then five-year-old law, created to protect and promote the recovery of imperiled species.
For the bald eagle, this was a game-changer. The ESA’s crucial protections to their nesting sites literally reversed the bird’s declines and, by the late 1990s, the bald eagle population had increased to over 9,000 nesting pairs.
This story – a species pulled back from near extinction by the efforts of the ESA – has played out time and time again. The grizzly bear, the gray wolf, and, indeed, 99 percent of all listed species, have all been saved by the ESA, indisputably, our most effective conservation law.
But last week, the Department of the Interior (DOI) released a report on “actions that potentially burden domestic energy,” which calls for, among other measures, a review of the ESA in order to “improve its application.” The report asserts that the ESA requirement that Federal agencies consult with one another (and with the DOI), to ensure agency actions do not compromise imperiled species and habitats is “unnecessarily burdensome.” The report then goes on to outline a plan to consult with groups, most notably, the Western Governors’ Association (WGA), on ways to reduce these burdens.
I can appreciate Secretary Zinke’s desire “to improve the application of the ESA,” as every process can – and should – be reviewed for improvement. But, an honest attempt at genuine improvement would require two things: first, acknowledging that the ESA is already very effective; and second, securing input from all interested stakeholders, and not just the Western Governors’ Association and other like-minded groups that have historically been critical of the ESA. Without these two elements in place, this initiative seems more like an attempt to justify a foregone conclusion that the ESA is in need of change than an honest attempt to improve an effective and important law.
Let’s start with the first point. If the Department of the Interior wants to “improve the efficacy” of the ESA, it must start by acknowledging that it has saved 99 percent of listed species from extinction. There really isn’t much room for improvement there, though we applaud the DOI if the goal is, indeed, to bring that number up to 100 percent…
Sarcasm aside, by ignoring the successes of the ESA, the DOI leaves us no choice but to conclude that the goal here isn’t to improve the law or make it more effective, but actually to render it less so, by making it easier for Federal agencies to work around it or ignore it in the name of cost-cutting and time-saving.
Second, a legitimate attempt at improvement would involve consulting with a range of organizations, experts, and groups, providing an array of perspectives and points of view, rather than a small, homogeneous collection of groups including the Western Governors’ Association, which, earlier this year, released a policy resolution aimed a severely weakening the ESA, which was driven by Wyoming Governor Matt Mead’s belief that the ESA is “not good for industry… not good for business and, quite frankly, it’s not good for the species.”
The ESA is not only an incredibly effective law, it’s also extremely popular, having the support of 90 percent of voters (what other law or policy can boast such a high approval rating… not to mention success rate?). If Secretary Zinke and the DOI are determined to review the ESA, I encourage them – in the name of the overwhelming majority of Americans who support this law and the scores of animals it has literally saved – to undertake an honest and transparent assessment to improve the law; a review that acknowledges the ESA’s success, and benefits from the perspectives of expert and qualified stakeholders. As CEO of Born Free USA, I gladly volunteer our organization and millions of supporters to be part of this project!
Keep Wildlife in the Wild,
