Written by Lauren James Budhu
The red wolf. Florida panther. California condor. Mississippi gopher frog.
These are just some of the most endangered species in the United States, as declared by the US Fish and Wildlife Service; because of persistent human activity such as pollution, land conversion for development purposes and climate change, they are at a high risk for extinction. The US Endangered Species Act, one of America’s oldest and most effective environmental laws, has saved many iconic species like the bald eagle, grizzly bears and more. Unfortunately, many provisions were made to the act in 2019, which slows protections until conditions worsen for each species. The revised rules would also prohibit the designation of habitat for species threatened by climate change.
This is devastating for our wildlife.
A recent report by the National Wildlife Federation found that one-third of America’s wildlife is at some increased risk of extinction. More than 150 American species have already gone extinct, and nearly 500 additional species have not been seen in recent decades. This includes the Eastern Monarch butterfly populations and animals such as manatees, which are dying at a fast rate in Florida.
In another report from May 2020, the Center for American Progress calculated that the Trump administration attempted to remove protections from nearly 35 million acres of public lands—approximately 1,000 times more land than his administration protected. The administration was considered the most “anti-nature presidency in the country’s history,” according to the report.
By stripping protections from national monuments such as Bears Ears and the Grand Staircase-Escalante, more than 2 million acres designated for conservation were opened up and sold for mineral development. This is in addition to the 35 million acres of public lands from which protections have been removed– equivalent in size to the state of Florida, or 15 times the size of Yellowstone National Park, according to the article “Saving Earth: Trump’s track record for wildlife conservation makes him the most ‘anti-nature President’ ever.”
Now is the time to act; there are many ways to help make a difference to protect our world’s most precious wildlife. Recently, a bipartisan bill called the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act was introduced to Congress, aiming to address this looming crisis. Thankfully, the bill was passed in June! You can also take action now with The Nature Conservancy. Sign one of the many petitions and donate what you can to help save our amazing wildlife that inhabits our remarkable planet.
