Perhaps you remember the snail darter, a tiny endangered fish that delayed the final construction and opening of the Tellico Dam in Tennessee. It was also the proximate reason that the Supreme Court upheld the Endangered Species Act. How has our understanding of the science of ecologic habitats shifted in the past forty-eight years?
endangered species act
There are at least 24 different concepts of what constitutes a species. Unfortunately, politics plays a substantial role in the process.
A mixed success record, abuse, regulatory mismanagement, and unintended consequences. Combined, these make the case that the Endangered Species Act is not working as intended. It must adapt or face extinction.