What I Learned Today - The Endangered Endangered Species Act

19th August 2008

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The Endangered Endangered Species Act

It may soon be time to say goodbye to the gray whale, the gray wolf, the wild yak, and the iconic bald eagle (and 1234 others), and the laws that protect them. That’s because in his 11^th hour, Bush is trying to overhaul the Endangered Species Act.

The ESA was created in 1973 when Nixon decided current conservation acts were inadequate and called upon Congress to pass more comprehensive legislation to protect endangered species. The purpose of the ESA was to protect species and “the ecosystems upon which they depend.” There are currently 1238 endangered animals and 747 endangered plants on the list, which is updated daily.

Under the ESA, any project that may disrupt the ecosystem and impact an endangered species must be approved by the Fish and Wildlife Service or the National Marine Fisheries Service. For example, if the Department of Transportation wanted to build a bridge somewhere that could damage the ecosystem of the Florida Scrub Jay, the plan must undergo an independent review by scientists at the FWS or the NMFS. Between 1998 and 2002, the Fish and Wildlife Service conducted 300,000 consultations. And the National Marine Fisheries Service conducts about 1,300 reviews each year.

The proposed overhaul would allow the Department of Transportation to determine if the project would disrupt the ecosystem. The goal of such measures is to end one of many environmental reviews that federal agencies and developers blame for delays and cost increases on many projects. Federal agencies and private developers say the process of reviewing each project has killed some worthwhile projects. So I guess they’d rather kill the species than the project.

Luckily, Obama opposes the act, stating “we should be looking for ways to improve it, not weaken it.” McCain so far has no comment. The proposal was laid out in the Federal Register, and allows a public comment period of 30 days. Mind you, that public comment period was shortened from 60 days to 30 because per an Interior Department spokeswoman, “It was determined that we needed to move forward in a timely fashion.”

Tagged: politics environment