The Endangered Species Act of 1973
Changes to Law That Saved Many Species May Result in Its Extinction
The ESA as it is now proposed would not have saved many species. Minimizing the importance of critical habitat is one of the key issues in the changes being considered.
One of US wildlife preservation’s most important documents is being torn apart by the present administration. The way the Endangered Species Act of 1973 is being rewritten today might have spelled extinction for the California condor, the grey wolf, grizzly bears and the American bald eagles if it were in place when each of these species was being considered for listing.
Historic Range and Critical Habitat At Issue
Three issues are of concern. First, the new ruling, if approved, would only apply to species in areas they currently occupy, not their historic range. Secondly, states, not the federal government, would have the primary right to decide on how species are handled in their area. And finally, the ability to protect critical habitat would be severely reduced.
Using the grizzly bears and grey wolves as examples it is clear that each aspect of these changes would have severely hampered, if not prevented, their recovery. The grey wolf barely had a toehold in northern Montana and Minnesota and the grizzly was found only in the northern Rockies. Both needed much larger ranges to survive.
The Y2Y corridor initiative to connect Canadian and US wildlife habitats is an example of just how much land would be ideal for these animals. But that critical habitat would be subject to very limited protection under the revised ESA. None of the habitat improvements that have occurred since their listing would be protected. Streambeds that were restored and forests that have recovered would not be safe from development or gas and mining exploration.
State Level Input on Reintroductions
The move to give states primary control would have meant the wolf could not have been reintroduced to Yellowstone if the governor of Wyoming was not in favor of the project. And removing the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) oversight would have allowed the Forest Service to review its own logging permits in critical habitat areas, affecting not just the endangered species within but all the other wildlife as well.
The California condors and bald eagles were also found in a very limited range. The condor was, in fact, declared extinct in the wild so that the last remaining birds could be brought into captivity for protection until controlled breeding increased their numbers. When bald eagles were listed, the USFWS stated that widespread loss of suitable habitat was a significant factor in their decline. Both of these birds would have remained largely unprotected because of that limited habitat.
With the huge strides that have been made in preserving wildlife in the US it would be wrong to take the backward steps that the proposed changes to the Endangered Species Act would mean.
