Bald Eagle photo by Paul Konrad

Proposed changes to the Endangered Species Act made the front page of the September 5th edition of USA Today, signifying just how important the landmark legislation is to both foes and supporters. One critic notes that a delisting success rate of less than 3 percent is evidence that the Endangered Species Act isn’t working. Proponents, such as the 400-plus groups who make up the Endangered Species Coalition, argue that 99 percent of the species listed have been saved from extinction. Bald Eagles, for example, reduced to fewer than 500 pairs in the lower 48 states when listed as Endangered in 1963, now number more than 10,000 pairs.

There are some bipartisan efforts to modernize the Endangered Species Act that could benefit species, reduce regulatory burden and improve allocations of funding for recovery efforts, but it’s unclear whether this work will survive in a highly polarized Congress. The deadline to submit public comments on planned revisions is September 24, 2018; more information on the process is available at https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2018/07/25/2018-15811/endangered-and-threatened-wildlife-and-plants-revision-of-the-regulations-for-prohibitions-to

See the USA Today story at https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2018/08/28/endangered-species-act-gop-wants-overhaul-savior-bald-eagle/1061476002/

You can submit a comment pro or con to https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2018/07/25/2018-15811/endangered-and-threatened-wildlife-and-plants-revision-of-the-regulations-for-prohibitions-to#open-comment before September 24.