National News

After 45 Years, the Endangered Species Act Continues to Make Progress. “In 1973 the Endangered Species Act became law. It was essentially a rewrite of its precursors the Endangered Species Preservation Act of 1966 and the Endangered Species Conservation Act of 1969. Since its creation, the ESA has done a lot to preserve and protect the wildlife in the US. But how much has really been accomplished in the last 45 years? How many species have been saved or lost? After nearly a half-century are we really making any progress or do we need to rethink our approach? Critics of the ESA will point out that only 1.3% of the species on the endangered or threatened list have ever been delisted. That’s a pretty small percentage and makes it seem like the US Fish & Wildlife Service isn’t doing their job. After all, how can that small of a number be considered a good thing? The 1.3% statistic is technically true but it fails to recognize many different aspects of what the ESA is trying to accomplish. First of all, that number includes species that have been saved, been removed from the list for some kind of error, and those that have gone extinct. That last one is a pretty important number if you want to be critical of the ESA. A total of ten species have gone extinct after being added to the list, which comes out to less than half a percent of the total.” [Forbes, 4/23/18 (+)]

Top Interior Official Key to Delaying Protection for an Endangered Species. “A top Interior Department employee with ties to the energy industry took credit for delaying the endangered species designation for a species of mussel, internal emails between the official and an industry trade group show. Two weeks after Vincent DeVito and Secretary Ryan Zinke met with officials with the Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA), an industry trade group, Devito began corresponding with an IPAA staffer about delaying the listing of the species, according to internal emails released in a public records request and first reported on by The Guardian. An email from IPAA's government relations director Samantha McDonald to Devito following the June 2017 meeting read: ‘We really hope that you can intervene before this species gets listed next month.’ In his reply, DeVito, a former Boston energy lawyer who also co-chaired Donald Trump’s presidential campaign in Massachusetts, told McDonald to keep him updated on ‘what you may be hearing as this unfolds.’ In August, less than a month following their correspondence, Interior's Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) chose to delay the listing of the Texas hornshell mussel…The hornshell was ultimately listed as endangered in February 2018. Endangered species designations, especially those located in waterways, are often burdensome for industries that must meet strict pollution standards. The Obama administration had proposed listing the species as endangered in 2016 after scientists witnessed its decline among its natural habitat along Texas's Rio Grande River. Some of the habitat also overlaps with rich deposits of oil and gas.” [The Hill, 4/20/18 (=)]

Feds Propose Dropping Kirtland’s Warbler from Endangered Species List, Wisconsin Keeps Songbird on Its List. “The Kirtland’s warbler, a colorful songbird that was nearly wiped out by habitat loss and a wily rival, has seen a comeback prompting federal officials to consider removing the bird from its endangered species list, but Wisconsin officials said the warbler population hasn’t seen enough growth to take it off the state endangered list. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed dropping legal protections for the warbler because of the robust population growth in Michigan where the core population is found. But the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources said that, although the warbler population has grown, more work needs to be done to protect the species. The Kirtland’s warbler was first documented breeding in Wisconsin in 2007.” [AP, 4/22/18 (=)]