Modernizing the ESA Pt 1

Modernizing the ESA Pt 1

Bob Larson
Bob Larson
I’m Bob Larson. Talks are being held in Congress about making changes to the Endangered Species Act to strengthen and modernize the act for protecting different species.

U.S. Representative Dan Newhouse led a discussion recently where he introduced what he calls “The Whole Act” to his colleagues …

NEWHOUSE … “Well, I was able to lead a group of about a dozen members of Congress. We spent an hour on the floor discussing the need to update the Endangered Species Act, which people remember, I think, was signed into law in 1973 and hasn’t had any major revisions or changes since then.”

Newhouse says many people believe we should make some changes and improvements so that ESA can be more effective and impactful …

NEWHOUSE … “One of the things that really points to the need for improvements is there is about a 3 percent success rate of those species that have been listed that have been deemed recovered.”

That number alone, Newhouse says, should be enough to warrant serious changes …

NEWHOUSE … “And, we think that there’s a lot more things that could be done to improve that record, to actually make the Endangered Species Act work better for those things that we are trying to preserve and protect animals as well as some of the plant life in this country.”

Tune in tomorrow for more on the talks currently underway and why changes and improvements to the Endangered Species Act are necessary.

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