Battle heats up as Congress begins review of Endangered Species Act

Article Abstract:

Congress must reauthorize the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in 1992, and this has brought to the fore the controversy over the effectiveness and means by which the act protects existing animals and plants and forestalls their extinction. The Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) enforces the act, but 37% of the species it has listed are still declining and only 10% are increasing in numbers. Some opponents argue that the ESA cares more about unusual animals than about human welfare. Other experts feel that preventive planning would be preferable, halting a species' decline before the ESA must step in.

Animal welfare

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Landowners need sanctuary, too

Article Abstract:

The government could better protect endangered species by using incentives to enlist the aid of landowners than by emphasizing confiscatory regulation. The ruling in Babbitt v Sweet Home sets the stage for more conflict and more efforts by private citizens to evade the law and make endangered species unwelcome. A more fair and more effective route would be to create incentives for having endangered species present, such as allowing minor habitat modification balanced by mitigation, and exempting landowners who participate in voluntary conservation programs.

Political aspects, Regulatory taking (Law), Landowners

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Endangered Species Act reforms aid landowners; recent trends include regional habitat conservation plans and reforms to the permit process

Article Abstract:

Destruction of endangered species habitat may be prohibited as a taking according to the ruling of the US Supreme Court in Babbit v. Sweet Home Communities for a Greater Oregon. This decision is consistent with expansions of habitat conservation planning. Regional and local authorities continue to clash over habitat planning strategies.

Administration of Conservation Programs, Endangered Species, Habitat (Ecology), Habitats, Wildlife conservation, Eminent domain (Law)

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