Save the Endangered Species Act

Most people remember the first time they saw a bald eagle in the wild. 

From their unmistakable white feathered head to their mighty beak and piercing eyes, it’s a bird with Hollywood caliber charisma. There’s a reason it’s emblazoned on the Great Seal of the United States: The bald eagle is a powerful creature with an even more powerful comeback story.  

Loving wildlife is baked into our national heritage.

Ramona McGee, Leader of SELC’s Wildlife Program

In the mid-1900s, habitat destruction, poaching, and the deadly insecticide known as DDT, all but completely wiped out one of our most iconic national symbols. But after the bald eagle was protected by the Endangered Species Act (ESA), the bird made a remarkable recovery.  

“It’s no coincidence that our nation’s symbol of power and strength is also one of the ESA’s most heroic success stories,” said Ramona McGee, a senior attorney and leader of SELC’s Wildlife Program. “Loving wildlife is baked into our national heritage. Americans are very proud that our nation has prioritized conserving the birds, fish and other wildlife that make our country so special.”

More than 1,600 animals and plants are protected by the Endangered Species Act, and any of these species could be the next great American comeback story. Other iconic animals protected here in the South, including eastern hellbenders and monarch butterflies, are waiting for final approval to receive this critical protection.  

Endangered and threatened species keep our rivers clean, protect farmland from pests, and are woven into our Southern heritage. But now the fate of imperiled wildlife across the South is more perilous than ever.  

‘Something we still have in common’ 

The South’s world-renowned biodiversity already faces historic pressure from habitat loss and climate change. Now proposed ESA rollbacks and staffing cuts would almost certainly be a death sentence to some federally listed species.  

For wildlife lovers, this is tough information to process. But the reality is clear — the Trump administration is willing to unnecessarily sacrifice protections for wildlife to appease industry, including those who make money off dirty fossil fuels.  

“Not only has the ESA successfully saved 99 percent of the species it protects from extinction, but it’s also wildly popular with the American people,” McGee said. “It is unconscionable that our leaders are unnecessarily attempting to remove vital wildlife protections to placate extractive industries.” 

For more than 50 years, the ESA has provided an incredible backstop to overdevelopment and extractive industries that intensify our current extinction crisis. We’ve already learned the hard way that overexploitation and corporate greed will have devastating impacts on species and special habitats across our country. Proposing to roll back one of the world’s most effective conservation tools will mean clear cutting forests and bulldozing wetlands that animals, and humans, depend on.  

“There is a reason why there was overwhelming bipartisan support for the ESA when President Nixon signed it into law back in 1973, because protecting animals and their habitat was important to all Americans,” McGee said. “A lot of things have changed in our country in 50 years, but pride for our nation’s wildlife is something we still have in common.”