THE CODEX OF THE ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT

Attorney and conservationist Baier provides readers with a detailed look at the Endangered Species Act of 1973.

The ESA was a 20-page law when it was first enacted, with an additional 30 pages of regulations set forth by the United States government to protect animal and plant life in imminent danger of extinction. Fifty years later, it has grown immensely; it’s now a 50-page law, connected to thousands of regulations. How the ESA got to this point is a complex story of politics, ecology, and differing opinions about the government’s responsibility to endangered species. The book begins with views on wildlife in the pre-ESA United States: Hunting, for example, was once guided by a “sportsmen’s code of conduct,” but by the late 1800s, “overharvesting” was threatening many species, including birds hunted for their colorful plumage, and bison, whose numbers were greatly thinned by overhunting. It became clear that conservation efforts were necessary, but it took decades for the ESA to come to be, which provides protection for certain species and allows them to be delisted in certain circumstances. This exhaustive book ably captures all the twists and turns in the development and enforcement of the ESA, up to and including the Biden administration. It features numerous citations, photos, and court cases, as well as appendices and an extensive bibliography. A section on migrating animals, for instance, includes information on the “nine distinct elk populations in Yellowstone National Park,” revealing how the wildlife in question are just as complex as the politics that govern their existence. These partisan politics can prove dizzying; much of the Trump administration’s agenda, for instance, seemed to focus on “reversing Obama’s accomplishments.” On the other side of the debate, Chief Justice Warren Burger pointed out that it’s vital to protect diverse species because “they are keys to puzzles which we cannot solve, and may provide answers to questions which we have not yet learned to ask.” Overall, this is a measured look at what the ESA means for the country and effectively shows how it came to its current state.

A lengthy but thorough investigation of a long-debated American law.