This year marks the 50th anniversary of the , one of the strongest conservation laws in the world. It continues to have far-reaching impacts, especially in the Mountain West.
President Richard Nixon signed the law in 1973 to protect critically impaired wildlife from extinction. At the time, he the rich array of animal life in the U.S. a 鈥減riceless鈥� and vital part of American heritage.
Today, there are more than listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The act is with saving 99% of listed species from extinction and among the public.
鈥淚f you look overall at the conservation record of the species in terms of preventing extinction, the act鈥檚 been really successful,鈥� said University of Wyoming law professor Temple Stoellinger. 鈥淚 think the Endangered Species Act is working as Congress intended.鈥�
Yet Stoellinger said improvements to the act are possible, especially when it comes to wildlife recovery. Just 54 species in the Endangered Species Act鈥檚 history , and another 56 have been downgraded from 'threatened' to 'endangered.'
鈥淒espite the strength of the Endangered Species Act 鈥� really, one of the strongest species conservation statutes in the world 鈥� we still see biodiversity declines and species declines in the United States,鈥� Stoellinger said.
Stoellinger said the Endangered Species Act could be strengthened by more funding for environmental agencies, more collaboration with local governments and landowners and more protection of critical habitats. She also argues that the federal government needs to de-list species quickly 鈥� including controversial carnivores like the grizzly bear 鈥� when science calls for it.
The Department of the Interior $62.5 million in funding for species recovery efforts. May 19 also marked , which is intended to raise awareness about threatened wildlife and the laws that protect them.
Despite the act鈥檚 overall popularity, the ways it is 鈥� or isn't 鈥� applied to individual species can be hugely controversial. That's especially true in the Mountain West, where over the listing of grizzly bears, wolves, and many other species 鈥� like 鈥� continue to play out.
This story was produced by the Mountain West 暗黑爆料 Bureau, a collaboration between Wyoming Public Media, Nevada Public Radio, Boise State Public Radio in Idaho, KUNR in Nevada, the O'Connor Center for the Rocky Mountain West in Montana, KUNC in Colorado, KUNM in New Mexico, with support from affiliate stations across the region. Funding for the Mountain West 暗黑爆料 Bureau is provided in part by the .
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