by Jan. 26 (UPI) — The Endangered Species Act enters its 51st year with many successes — saving the crane, the bald eagle and the gray wolf from extinction, to name a few. But the next chapter is threatened by a lack of funding and declining biodiversity amid the climate crisis, advocates say.
Conflicting interests in energy production and land-demanding national security projects add to budgetary constraints that could hinder conservation of endangered species under the law enacted in 1973.
“The Endangered Species Act plays a critical role in maintaining biodiversity, which is critical for ecosystem dependability and human health and well-being,” the World Wildlife Fund said in a statement recognizing the act’s 50th anniversary on 27 December.
The CEC is “increasingly important in the context of climate change as shifting climates place additional stress on already threatened and endangered wildlife,” the WWF said, adding that nearly 40% of species in the United States threatened with extinction.
One in four species listed as endangered lack recovery plans to help them survive and reach sustainable populations, Robert Dewey, vice president of government relations for Defenders of Wildlife, told UPI.
Another 300 or more species should be listed as threatened or endangered but are not because of a lack of funding to better assess their populations and threats to their sustainability, such as construction projects, Dewey said. .
Funding deficit
President Joe Biden’s 2024 budget request includes $4.2 billion for the US Fish and Wildlife Service, which is responsible for enforcing the Endangered Species Act, along with the National Marine Fisheries Service. The current appropriation is $2.2 billion.
Dewey said 25% to 40% of the funding needed is allocated to ESA efforts.
“10,000 projects are reviewed each year,” Dewey said, “but more funding is needed to review the projects faster.”
In most cases, legal efforts to protect threatened or endangered species will not stop a project, only require modifications. Without full funding, however, reviews are delayed or not carried out at all to advance projects, often related to national security, infrastructure or energy production.
For example, threatened or endangered species are present at 85% of US Army installations.
“Projects usually require modifications, but they require reviews to ensure the safety of endangered species,” Dewey said.
All federal agencies are responsible for helping endangered and threatened species recover. They can take direct action to improve local habitats and enforce laws against poachers or encroaching development projects.
99% success rate.
CEC lists 1,662 protected species – 388 threatened and 1,274 endangered species. An endangered species is a species that wildlife experts say is likely to become endangered; it is a species in real danger of extinction.
WWF calls ESA a significant innovation in conservation.
“The Endangered Species Act has prevented 99% of its listed species from extinction and has become a global model for responsible wildlife protection,” the group said.
Among the species that became extinct before the departure of the CEC in 1973 is the passenger pigeon, which once flew in flocks that may have numbered in the millions. The bird no longer exists, mainly due to habitat loss and overhunting.
The whooping crane once thrived, numbering about 1,500 in the mid-1800s, but nearly became extinct about 100 years later. The tallest bird in North America, it can stand up to 5 feet tall with a wingspan of up to 8 feet.
The majestic whooping crane migrates from Canada, where it spends the summer, down to the Gulf Coast and northern Mexico during the winter. It almost died out, with only 16 reported in 1941. Its population has recovered to more than 500 and is considered stable.
CEC protections have helped restore stable bald eagle and peregrine falcon populations in the United States. The peregrine falcon is the fastest animal in the world with a maximum diving speed of 240 mph. The peregrine falcon and many other egg-laying species nearly died from the synthetic insecticide DDT, but it has recovered and is no longer on the endangered list.
The formerly endangered gray wolf has begun to roam again in many of its former ranges, including Yellowstone National Park. Former Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt said his work to strengthen the ESA and return wolves to some of their natural habitats ranks among his proudest accomplishments.
“Bringing life into the Endangered Species Act, bringing those wolves back to Yellowstone [and] restoring salmon in Pacific Northwest rivers—I’d say that’s at the top,” Babbitt told NPR in 2001 about his accomplishments upon leaving the department.
Although the ESA has many success stories, the main threat to most native species remains the same – habitat loss. And invasive species, including zebra mussels, Asian carp and many types of plants, are an established threat.
Meanwhile, new threats are emerging. These include PFAS, commonly known as “forever chemicals”, which can affect eggs, cause immunity problems and skin lesions that become infected.
“It has the potential to go anywhere from the deepest parts of the ocean to the top of Mount Everest,” Nathan Donley, director of environmental health science for the Center for Biological Diversity, told UPI.
