| "When the Endangered Species Act passed 50 years ago, its ultimate goal was clear: to recover listed species to the point that they no longer need the act’s protections. Fifty years later, how much progress has been made to recover listed species?" - Dr. Katie Wright The Endangered Species Act at 50 | PERC
As Dr. Rodger Gwiazdowski stated during the 24 January 2024 Sucker Symposium at Oregon Institute of Technology, we need a strategic vision to inform our decision making. This ESA @ 50 Symposium attempts to provide questions for which a shared vision of the future can be discussed openly.
Section 7 consultation under the ESA is the process federal agencies use to interact with the Services to address the conservation of listed species. Under Section 7(a)(1), federal agencies are required to use their authorities to carry out programs for the conservation of listed species under the ESA. The Services note that this provision supports a proactive conservation planning process by federal agencies that will enable the agencies to plan their actions and programs to allow for the conservation and recovery of listed species.
Addressing whether the ESA has been successful at conserving species, various stakeholders have raised numerous other issues related to the act, including the following:
The ESA’s effects on private property and landowners The ability to conserve species before it is necessary to list them The cost of listing species and the resulting economic impacts The availability of funding for the ESA Incentives for conservation under the ESA States’ role in conserving listed species Delays in listing, delisting, and reclassification of species under the ESA Litigation related to the ESA
The Endangered Species Act: Overview and Implementation (congress.gov) |
