LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – Ahead of the new year, the Property and Environment Research Center (PERC) released a report sharing its findings regarding the 50th Anniversary of the Endangered Species Act. 

What’s in the report?

The environmental resources oriented policy institute created a report, “A Field Guide for Wildlife Recovery” addressing some of the gaps in the Endangered Species Act. 

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First signed into law in 1973, the Endangered Species Act has sought to provide “a program for the conservation of threatened and endangered plants and animals and the habitats in which they are found,” according to the Environmental Protection Agency. The lead federal agencies charged with implementing it are the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries Service. 

“From the Oregon chub to the Apache trout, the water is full of fish and wildlife that are here because of the ESA,” FWS said on X (formerly Twitter). “But the work isn’t done yet!” 

Most species listed avoided extinction.

PERC identified that even though it has been five decades since the ESA was passed, most species listed have avoided extinction. 

“Only a tiny fraction of listed species, however, have ever recovered and come off the list,” the report said. “The vast majority remain at risk, not quite plunging over the cliff to extinction, but not backing away a safe distance from the edge either.” 

To be more specific, only three percent of species ever listed as endangered or threatened have recovered according to the report. 

The report lays out a roadmap.

Among PERC’s 49 page report, it provided a roadmap to revise and revamp the ESA by breaking up the road to improvement into three main sections: the listing and recovery process, removing regulatory disincentives, and encouraging proactive recovery efforts. 

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“Unfortunately, the law’s strictness complicates its ultimate goal of recovering species,” the report said. “By imposing stringent regulatory burdens wherever a rare species or its habitat are found, the law makes species liabilities that landowners would do well to avoid. This creates perverse incentives for landowners to preemptively destroy habitat before it attracts a rare species and the regulatory consequences that accompany it.” 

Last spring in Michigan, 58 new species were added to the state’s endangered species list. That includes 407 species overall. 

“When people come together to collaborate on conservation, we can recover rare species,” said DNR endangered species specialist Jennifer Kleitch. “For instance, trumpeter swans were just removed from Michigan’s threatened and endangered species list. Their populations have grown as a result of significant conservation efforts by many partners over decades.”

Some species were removed; others still need help.

While 36 species were removed from the list, others still need more help according to Kleitch. 

“Many threatened and endangered species rely on high-quality natural areas that benefit all of us by providing clean water, clean air and places for us to enjoy nature. When species are struggling, it can indicate declines in the functioning of those natural areas, which in turn can impact our quality of life,” Kleitch said.

To learn more about the currently endangered species, Kleitch encouraged people to see the MIchigan Natural Features Inventory website.  If someone is interested in learning more about the Department of Natural Resources’ (DNR) conservation efforts see here, and if interested in supporting conservation efforts, visit here.