Endangered Species Act at 50 years faces a growing list of threats

Protection under the Endangered Species Act has helped restore stable bald eagle populations. File photo by John Angelillo/UPI

Jan. 26 (UPI) — The Endangered Species Act is entering its 51st year with many achievements: saving the whooping crane, the bald eagle, and the gray wolf, to name a few. But the next chapter is threatened by a lack of funding and declining biodiversity amid a climate crisis, advocates say.

Conflicting interests over energy production and national security projects that require land contribute to budgetary constraints that could hinder conservation of the dwindling species under the law enacted in 1973.

“The Endangered Species Act plays a critical role in conserving biodiversity, which is critical to ecosystem dependence and human health and well-being,” the World Wildlife Fund said in a statement recognizing the 50th anniversary of the law on December 27.

The ESA “is increasingly important in the context of climate change, as changing climates add additional pressures to already struggling threatened and endangered wildlife,” the WWF said, adding that nearly 40% of species in the United States with extinction is threatened.

One in four species considered endangered have no recovery plans to help them survive and reach sustainable populations, Robert Dewey, vice president of government relations for the Defenders of Wildlife, told UPI.

The whooping crane nearly became extinct, with only 16 reports in 1941. The population has since recovered to over 500 and is considered stable.  File photo by Roger L. Wollenberg/UPIThe whooping crane nearly became extinct, with only 16 reports in 1941. The population has since recovered to over 500 and is considered stable.  File photo by Roger L. Wollenberg/UPI

The whooping crane nearly became extinct, with only 16 reports in 1941. The population has since recovered to over 500 and is considered stable. File photo by Roger L. Wollenberg/UPI

Another 300 or more species should be listed as endangered or threatened, but are not due to a lack of funding to better assess their populations or threats to their sustainability, such as construction projects, Dewey said.

Funding shortage

Challenger, a 14-year-old bald eagle, visits the U.S. Capitol with his handler Al Cecere on December 9, 2003, to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Endangered Species Act.  File photo by Michael Kleinfeld/UPIChallenger, a 14-year-old bald eagle, visits the U.S. Capitol with his handler Al Cecere on December 9, 2003, to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Endangered Species Act.  File photo by Michael Kleinfeld/UPI

Challenger, a 14-year-old bald eagle, visits the U.S. Capitol with his handler Al Cecere on December 9, 2003, to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Endangered Species Act. File photo by Michael Kleinfeld/UPI

President Joe Biden’s 2024 budget request includes $4.2 billion for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which is responsible for implementing the Endangered Species Act, along with the National Marine Fisheries Service. Current credit amounts to $2.2 billion.

Dewey said ESA’s efforts will be allocated 25% to 40% of the funding needed.

An adult bald eagle chases away a juvenile as they gather along the Nooksack River to feast on salmon near Welcome, Washington, in 2008.  The Endangered Species Act, passed in 1973, has also helped restore salmon populations.  File photo by Jim Bryant/UPIAn adult bald eagle chases away a juvenile as they gather along the Nooksack River to feast on salmon near Welcome, Washington, in 2008.  The Endangered Species Act, passed in 1973, has also helped restore salmon populations.  File photo by Jim Bryant/UPI

An adult bald eagle chases away a juvenile as they gather along the Nooksack River to feast on salmon near Welcome, Washington, in 2008. The Endangered Species Act, passed in 1973, has also helped restore salmon populations. File photo by Jim Bryant/UPI

“There are 10,000 projects reviewed every year,” Dewey said, “but more funding is needed to review the projects more quickly.”

In most cases, efforts under the law to protect an endangered species will not hold up a project, but only require adjustments. However, without full funding, assessments are postponed or not carried out at all in the interest of progressing projects, often related to national security, infrastructure or energy production.

For example, 85% of U.S. military installations are home to endangered species.

“Project adjustments are often necessary, but assessments are needed to ensure the safety of endangered species,” Dewey said.

All federal agencies are responsible for helping endangered species recover. They can take direct action to improve local habitats and enforce laws against poachers or development projects that conflict.

99% success rate

The ESA lists 1,662 species as protected: 388 endangered species and 1,274 endangered species. An endangered species is one that wildlife experts say is likely to become endangered; an endangered species is a species that is in real danger of extinction.

WWF calls the ESA an important innovation in the field of nature conservation.

“The Endangered Species Act has prevented 99% of listed species from going extinct and has served as a global model for responsible wildlife protection,” the group said.

One of the species that became extinct before the advent of the ESA 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, with numbers reaching about 1,500 in the mid-1800s, but nearly became extinct about 100 years later. The tallest bird in North America can grow up to 1.5 meters in height and have a wingspan of up to 2.5 meters.

The majestic crane migrates in winter from Canada, where it is summer, to the Gulf Coast and northern Mexico. The species almost became extinct; in 1941 only 16 were reported. The population has since recovered to over 500 and is considered stable.

ESA conservation measures have helped restore stable populations of bald eagles and peregrine falcons in the United States. The peregrine falcon is the world’s fastest animal with a maximum diving speed of 400 km/h. The synthetic insecticide DDT nearly wiped out the peregrine falcon and many other egg-laying species, but has recovered and is no longer on the endangered list.

The previously endangered gray wolf has also returned to 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 was among his proudest achievements.

“We’re reviving the Endangered Species Act and bringing those wolves back to Yellowstone [and] restoring salmon to the rivers of the Pacific Northwest — I’d say that’s right up there,” Babbitt told NPR in 2001 of his proudest accomplishments when he left the department.

While the ESA has many success stories, the main threat to most native species remains the same: habitat loss. And invasive species are an old and constant threat, including zebra mussels, Asian carp and many species of plants.

Meanwhile, new threats are emerging. These include PFAS, better known as ‘forever chemicals’, which can damage eggs, cause immunity problems and cause skin lesions that become infected.

“It has the potential to reach everywhere from the deepest parts of the ocean to the summit of Mount Everest,” Nathan Donley, director of environmental health sciences at the Center for Biological Diversity, told UPI.

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