The Endangered Species Act Is Good, Actually

Authors: Patrick Donnelly

Year: 2021

Abstract

The Endangered Species Act is the most powerful conservation law in the world and has an unparalleled track record of success at its stated goal of preventing extinction: over 99% of listed species under its protection avoided extinction. The Act also enjoys broad and bipartisan support from the American people - with approval ratings consistently over 80% in polling. Desert fishes are among the most imperiled group of taxa in North America, with dozens of species facing extinction due to habitat loss, climate change-driven drought, groundwater overappropriation, invasive species or other factors. While some 40 desert fishes are protected under the Endangered Species Act, many other species and populations remain at grave risk of extinction. Many state wildlife officials oppose new Endangered Species Act listings or seek de-listing of species, perceiving listing as intrusion on state authority. This position is difficult to reconcile with the increased dollars, staffing and research that accompanies listing through section 6 and other sources. While state wildlife agencies are adept at habitat management and restoration, they frequently lack the tools to address larger-scale threats. Endangered Species Act listing offers desert fishes a level of protection to landscape-scale threats that state wildlife agencies simply cannot match. Groundwater overappropriation, dam construction, mine dewatering, fracking, geothermal development, and other land and water uses which threaten desert fishes are all examples of projects that state wildlife agencies are functionally powerless to stop or substantively change in any meaningful way. This talk will highlight several examples of threats to desert fishes and other aquatic endemics which can only be ameliorated sufficient to prevent the extinction of these species through protection under the Endangered Species Act.