In a comeback story for the ages, the U.S. bald eagle population in the lower 48 states has quadrupled in the last 12 years.
At its most endangered point in 1963, there were only 417 known nesting pairs of bald eagles in the very country that chose the eagle as its national symbol.
Now there are more than 300,000, up from about 72,000 in 2009.
This stunning resurgence is due largely to the eagle’s lengthy legal status as an endangered species. News of the eagle population increase is a strong indicator of the power of the 1973 Endangered Species Act, often cited as a gold standard for conservation efforts around the globe, given that 99% of species listed have avoided extinction.
The act is powerful and assists both domestic and foreign petitioners. Once a species is on the endangered list, it cannot be harmed or killed, or imported or exported. Its critical habitat receives legal protection from development, and a plan to promote recovery is developed and implemented.
However, earning a place on that list can be a prolonged and frustrating journey.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service can take up to a full year to evaluate a petition for a plant or animal species to be granted endangered status. The factors that go into such a review are complex, and even after a year — if there isn’t strong scientific consensus — a decision can be pushed another six months.
While judicious assessment is warranted given the implications — which often involves forestalling of land and business development — the process should be streamlined. Everyone, from species members to those in the development community, would benefit from quicker judgment.
Those who have battled ESA gained the ear of the previous administration. Under President Donald Trump, the definition of “critical habitat” was narrowed and more emphasis was placed on weighing the economic impacts of declaring an area off-limits to development.
Proponents of biodiversity have found their champion in President Joe Biden, who began making moves to roll back Trump-era environmental policies on the first day of his administration.
It’s difficult, if not impossible, to calculate extinction rates, and estimates vary wildly. Still, a 2019 United Nations report that analyzed and reviewed thousands of scientific and government sources indicates that the globe is experiencing unprecedented rates of threatened extinction. To push back against this trend, the United States must do more by moving faster in its deliberations. The stakes are high for all involved.
