Nearly a half-century ago, Congress passed the Endangered Species Act by a vote of 92-0 in the Senate and 355-4 in the House. Republican President Richard Nixon said that the legislation “provides the federal government with needed authority to protect an irreplaceable part of our national heritage, threatened wildlife. … Nothing is more priceless and worthier of preservation than the rich array of animal life with which our country has been blessed.”
As the Trump administration continues to roll back America’s commitment to conservation, we should fear that it will succeed in turning the federal government away from its responsibility to protect species from extinction. Recently, the administration denied petitions to list 25 wildlife species as endangered.
The above excerpt was originally published in High Country News.
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