Has the Endangered Species Act Succeeded in its 50 Years?

During her childhood in California in the 1980s, Winifred Frick never encountered a condor in its natural environment. The count of these large birds, Gymnogyps californianus, had almost faded to nothing by 1987 due to excessive hunting, trapping and poisoning.

The remaining wild condors were taken to zoos in the early 1980s as part of a program to rejuvenate the condor population conducted for captive breeding. A limited number of these birds reproduced, and eventually a substantial number of condors were reintroduced to the wild.

Fast forward to the present day, Frick, currently holding a position as a conservation biologist at the University of California, Santa Cruz, can view and appreciate condors in flight with her 14-year-old son during their hiking adventures along the Pacific coast. Almost 350 of these impeccable scavengers, possessing a wingspan of close to 3 meters, are once again visible over the territories of California and Arizona.

The revival story of the condors is largely owed to the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA), adopted on December 28, 1973. The Act currently safeguards over 2,300 species including more than 900 plant species and over 160 marine species.

Frick, who is also associated as a chief scientist at Bat Conservation International, a nonprofit organization based in Austin, Texas, believes that the ESA is arguably the most effective law to avert extinction of plants and animals. Her organization released a report in 2023 shedding light on the potential risks of decline for over half of North America’s 154 bat species in the upcoming 15 years. The ESA plays a pivotal role in preserving wildlife for future generations, says Frick.

If any species is recognized as under threat or on the verge of extinction, it undergoes a rigorous evaluation process to decide if it qualifies to be enlisted as an endangered species. Once a species is classified as endangered, government agencies devise a recovery plan which may involve restoration of its habitat or identification of ways to remove threats to the said species. As per the Act, it is unlawful to torment, kill or capture such organisms.

Over the previous 50 years, the ESA has spurred numerous success stories. It has assisted with the amelioration of large predators like grizzly bears (Ursus arctos horribilis), gray wolves (Canis lupus) and American alligators (Alligator mississippiensis).

Along with larger species, it has also benefitted smaller ones like the brown snail, Magazine Mountain shagreen (Inflectarius magazinensis). This snail was the first endangered invertebrate to be delisted from the federal endangered species list in 2013. Its population saw a revival after its forest habitat in Arkansas was safeguarded from logging and construction operations.

The ESA has contributed to protecting a variety of endangered species ranging from the island night lizard (Xantusia riversiana) in Southern California to the Lake Erie water snakes (Nerodia sipedon insularum) on islands near Toledo, Ohio. The golden paintbrush plants (Castilleja levisecta), which were in danger of being extinct, have surprisingly made a comeback too.

A 2019 study in Peer J concluded that ESA has successfully protected 99 percent of endangered species from extinction.

However, the news isn’t entirely optimistic. According to a 2019 United Nations report, approximately a million species of plants and animals across the world are at risk of going extinct. The USA only accounts for a small fraction of these threatened species.

For a significant portion of the species it can protect, the ESA typically steps in when it's already quite late. Species that are under threat could soon fall into the category of endangered if action isn't taken in time, and rescuing them is much more challenging once they've reached this crucial stage.

Despite its limitations, the ESA has recorded several significant victories in wildlife conservation.

For instance, in 2014, the pinky-sized Oregon chub (Oregonichthys crameri) - the first fish to graduate off the endangered species list. When the chub was added to ESA's list in 1993, only 1,000 of these small fish were left. But, thanks to recovery efforts from landowners and government agencies, along with reintroduction by scientists, there are now over 160,000 of these tiny fish thriving in the wild in Oregon’s Willamette River Valley.

60 species have enhanced their status well enough that they no longer qualify as endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), although they remain listed as threatened. This includes the American burying beetle (Nicrophorus americanus), a carrion beetle native to various states.

The action of the ESA has greatly benefitted some of the largest creatures in the world, including whales. The humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) was among the first to be listed as endangered, with whaling having decreased their North Pacific population to roughly 8% of original numbers; from 15,000 whales to about 1,200.

In 1985, due to the United States' endorsement, the International Whaling Commission prohibited commercial whale harvesting. Since then, 9 out of 14 humpback populations are no longer viewed as endangered.

A significant success story is the Hawaiian-born humpback population, which presently numbers around 11,000. According to Suzie Teerlink, a humpback whale biologist based in Juneau Alaska, these whales have "likely met or exceeded their historic abundance."

The Endangered Species Act offers additional protection to whales and their habitats against various human-related threats. It incorporates regulations to minimize whale injuries caused by ship strikes or entanglement in fishing lines.

ESA mandates that the U.S. government considers the potential impacts of development on threatened or endangered species. This includes infrastructure projects like new roads and bridges, alongside activities like logging or mining.

Proponents of the act like Derek Goldman, national field director for the Endangered Species Coalition, believe that the law forces people to reconsider environmental damage. However, critics argue this act hinders development, stressing the ESA is not intended to prohibit projects but rather limit potential damage to local flora and fauna.

Another concern with the ESA is its tendency to provide protection to species deemed too late. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service de-listed 21 species in October, as these species are now extinct, including eight birds endemic to Hawaii and eight species of freshwater mussels.

A 2022 study in PLOS ONE highlighted that most endangered species receive protection only after reaching "dangerously low" levels. While typically, a species should wait no more than two years before listing, most experience longer waiting periods before achieving protected status. This delay is linked to government agencies often lacking the necessary resources to expedite the process, placing species with rapidly depleting populations at further risk of extinction.

Erich Eberhard, an ecologist at Columbia University and a coauthor of the PLOS ONE study, notes that the ESA has two goals: prevent extinction and recover listed species. He points out that the second goal hasn't been very successful, with only 3 percent of listed species recovering sufficiently to be de-listed.

To aid species recovery, further investment is needed for species and ecosystem protection. Many biologists endorse the Recovering America's Wildlife Act as a complementary law to strengthen species before they require listing under ESA.

This proposed law was introduced in the U.S. Senate in March. It would invest $1.4 billion each year to help states and tribal nations keep wildlife populations healthy. It would help pay for habitat conservation and state research programs. And that money would benefit more than just species on ESA’s list; it would also help out 12,000 species of concern on the lists of individual states. Such species include the monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus), western bumble bee (Bombus occidentalis) and dwarf shrew (Sorex nanus).

If the Endangered Species Act is an emergency room for species whose numbers have gotten critically low, then the proposed law would provide preventive care, working to keep wildlife populations and their habitats healthy.

Frick of Bat Conservation International believes that passing the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act could be “a game changer” for conserving wildlife.

As ESA celebrates its 50th anniversary in December 2023, Frick hopes a lot more healthy species will “graduate” from an endangered status.

Teerlink, who focuses on ocean critters, agrees. “Extinction is forever. The future depends on us being considerate and intentional in what we leave behind.”