Introduction to Without a Net

The United States is unique in its commitment to protect wildlife.  In 1973, forward-thinking politicians passed the Endangered Species Act.  With this law, we made a promise to protect wildlife, plants and fish on the brink of extinction.  We pledged that these species would not go extinct on our watch.

But, the only way that the law protects species from extinction, is if they are first recognized as  threatened or endangered and officially placed on the endangered species list.  Without this official recognition, even species in grave danger of extinction will receive little federal protection.  Therefore, the “listing program” is absolutely crucial in implementing the Endangered Species Act.

Unfortunately, the listing program is broken.  The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) is greatly under-funded and under-staffed.  Agency supervisors tell scientists not to list a species, unless they are sued.  And, as a result species languish on “the candidate list” or do not even make it that far.  Candidate list species are species that FWS officially determined are in danger of extinction, but are not being placed on the endangered species list due to lack of funding or other reasons.  According to the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD), delays such as lengthy waits on the candidate list—and by lengthy, we mean more than ten years—have contributed to the extinction of 42 species between 1974 and 1994.  

The lack of listings has come to a head under George W. Bush.  CBD reports that the Clinton administration placed 65 species per year on the endangered list, Bush Sr. averaged 59 species per year, and Reagan 32 species per year.  And then came George W. Bush.  His administration virtually closed its doors on the listing program, holding the worst listing record of any administration in the Act’s 35-year history—only 62 species.  In 2008, under court order, the Bush administration listed the polar bear, and it began the listing evaluation of 45 Hawaiian plants, two birds and one insect.  However, George W. Bush will leave office with an average of only a measly 8 listings per year!

To add insult to injury, a senior political appointee, Julie MacDonald, bullied scientists and changed their decisions on listings for political reasons.  When taking measures to protect species, the law allows the consideration of things such as social and economic impacts, except when listing a species.  When determining whether a species should be listed, only the science is allowed to be taken into consideration.  That didn’t happen with the Bush administration, and MacDonald resigned under a cloud of controversy.

Today, timely listing of species is more needed than ever.  Scientists predict that climate change may drive up to 30% of species to be faced with extinction.  Therefore, we cannot afford to have our federal agencies simply ignore the law and abrogate their duties.  We need proactive steps to protect species with a fully funded and staffed FWS.

The Obama administration has its work cut out for it.  The challenges to protecting species in today’s world are certainly great.  But, the Endangered Species Act provides a flexible and effective framework for doing just that, if implemented properly.  And, the first step is to actually list species.

We hope that you find this report illuminating.  And, we hope that you’ll join us in doing all that you can to protect our country’s treasure trove of magnificent wildlife and wild lands.