1 Roots of Endangered Species Conservation 1.1 Introduction Most. Americans. know. of. the. Endangered. Species. Act,. many. admire. its. objectives,. and. some. are. aware. of. some. of. its. successes,. especially. with. respect.to.once.nearly.extinct.but.now.relatively.common.and.iconic.species. such.as.the.bald.eagle.(Haliaeetus leucocephalus),.American.bison.(Bison bison),. and. American. alligator. (Alligator mississippiensis).. Some. others. conversely. know.of.the.act.in.a.negative.sense—one.more.government.regulation.that. increases.the.cost.of.developing.land,.building.infrastructure,.or.otherwise. carrying.out.the.economic.business.of.our.land..Talk.to.these.Americans.and. the.conversation.will.likely.turn.to.the.snail.darter.(Percina tanasi),.north- ern.spotted.owl.(Strix occidentalis caurina),.or—more.recently—the.polar.bear. (Ursus maritimus);.that.is,.it.will.turn.to.species.whose.conservation.is.per- ceived.to.stand.in.the.way.of.“progress.”.Yet,.some.other.Americans.view.the. act.with.frustration,.pointing.to.species.such.as.the.whooping.crane.(Grus americana). pictured. on. the. cover. or. California. condor. (Gymnogyps califor- nianus),.which.despite.decades.of.protection.and.costly.conservation.effort. under.the.act.have.yet.to.show.promising.rebounds.in.their.population. 1.2 Purpose and Objectives of This Book Few. Americans,. regardless. of. whether. they. see. themselves. as. defend- ers.or.as.victims.of.the.Endangered.Species.Act,.really.understand.the.act,. the.science.that.underlies.the.objectives.of.the.act,.or.how.the.act.has.been. implemented. in. the. nearly. four. decades. since. its. initial. promulgation. in. 1973..Such.understanding.has.long.been.the.province.of.a.cadre.of.profes- sional. biologists,. ecologists,. environmental. scientists,. and. environmental. lawyers.who.work.for.government.agencies,.consulting.firms,.and.industry. in.developing,.administrating,.and.complying.with.the.act.and.its.associ- ated.bevy.of.regulations..It.is.hoped.this.book.will.help.students.aspiring. 1 2 The Endangered Species Act to.these.fields;.beginners.starting.out.in.these.fields;.landowners.and.busi- ness.owners.affected.by.the.act;.nature.and.conservation.enthusiasts.such.as. bird-watchers,.hunters,.and.fishers;.and.interested.members.of.the.public.to. gain.a.better.understanding.and.appreciation.for.one.of.America’s.premier. environmental.conservation.laws—the.one.specifically.and.directly.scoped. with.preventing.extinction—the.permanent.loss.of.our.nation’s.biodiversity.. It.should.also.help.provide.new.insight.and.perspective.on.the.act.to.expe- rienced. consultants. and. other. scientific. practitioners.. The. book. is. written. from.the.perspective.of.an.environmental.consultant.who.must.assist.clients. with.complying.with.the.act..It.is.not.written.from.the.perspective.of.those. who.write,.administer,.make.decisions,.or.otherwise.exert.regulatory.power. under.the.act;.it.is.instead.written.from.the.perspective.of.one.who.must. know.and.live.with.the.provisions.of.the.act. This.book.is.not.intended.to.be.a.cheerleader.for.the.act.or.even.the.objec- tives.of.the.act..It.will.of.course.highlight.the.noble.aspirations.of.the.act. and.note.some.of.the.act’s.successes..But,.it.will.also.note.some.of.the.prob- lems.inherent.in.the.act,.discussing.the.inevitable.conflicts.that.have.arisen. and. continue. to. arise. as. implementation. of. those. noble. aspirations. butt. up.against.the.realities.of.our.economy.and.our.rights.to.property.owner- ship.as.guaranteed.in.our.Constitution..Like.other.environmental.regula- tions,. the. Endangered. Species. Act. is. an. imperfect. attempt. to. balance. the. interests.of.those.who.admire.the.natural.world.as.the.shared.heritage.of. us.all.and.those.who.work.to.meet.the.economic.challenges.of.supporting. our.advanced.standard.of.living..The.Endangered.Species.Act,.as.presently. written.and.administered,.is.not.the.only.possible.way,.and.probably.not.the. best.way,.to.balance.these.objectives..But.a.comprehensive.understanding. of.the.act.and.how.it.functions.in.its.present.form.is.necessary.to.serve.as.a. foundation.for.proposing.improvements.to.the.act..Unless.employed.by.envi- ronmental.advocacy.groups.such.as.Greenpeace.or.the.World.Wildlife.Fund,. most.environmental.consultants.and.other.technical.specialists.involved.in. environmental. planning. are. not. outspoken. environmental. activists. with. clearly.expressed.“proenvironment”.or.“progrowth”.opinions..Their.job.is. to.provide.scientific.expertise,.not.opinions. 1.3 Early Roots of Conservation When.promulgated.in.1973,.the.objectives.of.the.act.were.not.entirely.novel.. In. fact,. one. may. view. the. Endangered. Species. Act. as. simply. the. modern. American. version. of. various. laws,. decrees,. and. practices. that. have. existed. over. the. years. to. ensure. the. continued. availability. of. plants. and. animals. viewed. as. desirable. by. civilization.. Kings. of. England. and. other. European. countries.established.royal.forests.and.deer.parks.as.early.as.the.Middle.Ages. Roots of Endangered Species Conservation 3 to.prevent.commoners.from.hunting.prized.game,.especially.red.deer.1.The. king’s.concern,.of.course,.was.not.the.ecological.consequences.of.fewer.or.no. deer;.instead,.the.concern.was.the.continued.availability.of.plenty.of.deer.for. his.and.his.noble’s.own.pursuit..The.target.of.the.American.Revolution,.King. George.III,.issued.decrees.limiting.the.colonist’s.ability.to.harvest.tall.trees,. especially.prized.white.pine.(Pinus strobus).trees,.needed.as.masts.for.royal. shipbuilding..The.Crown.government.marked.the.best.white.pine.trees.with. the.“king’s.mark,”.indicating.that.the.tree.could.be.cut.for.royal.use.only,.not. by.the.local.population.2.Again,.the.king.could.care.less.about.protecting.white. pine.as.a.species;.ensuring.continued.shipbuilding.was.the.only.objective. The. newly. independent. nation. had. a. seeming. abundance. of. natural. resources,. and. far. more. immediate. challenges. related. to. survival. and. an. insatiable.drive.to.expand,.than.conservation.of.what.it.perceived.as.more.of. a.blank.canvas..Only.with.the.disappearance.of.the.“frontier”.did.any.nostal- gia.for.the.once-ubiquitous.wilderness.arise..The.earliest.roots.of.American. environmental.conservation.are.discussed.in.the.introduction.to.a.new.book. on. environmental. assessments. authored. jointly. by. Charles. Eccleston. and. myself.3.One.of.the.earliest.American.environmental.successes.involved.the. 1872.enactment.of.the.law.establishing.Yellowstone.National.Park,.the.world’s. first.national.park,.thereby.setting.a.precedent.for.the.preservation.of.scenic. federal.lands..The.very.concept.of.a.park.ultimately.reflects.the.“parks”.or. “enclosures”. of. naturally. vegetated. lands. in. Europe. established. for. hunt- ing.by.nobility..In.1873,.the.American.Association.for.the.Advancement.of. Science.petitioned.Congress.to.halt.the.unwise.use.of.natural.resources..In. the. following. years,. Congress. continued. to. lay. the. foundation. for. federal. protection. of. lands. by. expanding. the. national. park. system,. establishing. national.forests.and.the.U.S..Soil.Survey..Many.states.followed.suit.with.the. establishment.of.state.parks.and.state.forests..In.1891,.John.Muir.founded. the. Sierra. Club,. one. of. the. founding. organizations. of. the. environmental. movement,.which.has.remained.active.ever.since..While.the.setting.aside.of. lands.in.the.late.nineteenth.century.for.conservation.purposes.constituted.a. major.advance.toward.protecting.rare.and.declining.species.from.extinction,. the.nation.was.still.far.from.the.notion.of.enacting.regulations.such.as.the. Endangered.Species.Act.that.are.directed.at.protecting.individual.species. from.harm.and.exploitation. Public.concern.driving.much.of.the.earliest.attempts.to.conserve.species. and.natural.lands.in.the.late.nineteenth.and.early.twentieth.centuries.was. driven.to.a.large.degree.by.the.rapid.and.stunning.declines.in.what.had.once. been.some.of.the.most.common.bird.species..Chapter.10.of.the.Cornell.Lab.of. Ornithology.Handbook of Bird Biology.provides.a.good.discussion.of.how.bird. population.declines.underpin.early.public.concern.that.leads.to.American. conservation. laws.4. Around. the. turn. of. the. twentieth. century,. Americans. began.to.notice,.and.seemed.quite.puzzled.by,.the.disappearance.of.what. was.once.an.almost.unimaginably.abundant.species:.the.passenger.pigeon. (Ectopistes migratorius).. To. one. with. a. modern. perspective,. imagining. the. 4 The Endangered Species Act extinction.of.the.passenger.pigeon.would.be.like.imagining.the.extinction.of. corn,.crabgrass,.or.house.flies—how.could.we.ever.run.out,.even.if.we.tried?. Southeastern. farmers. felt. that. they. could. only. dream. of. the. extinction. of. the.Carolina.parakeet.(Conuropsis carolinensis),.a.colorful.attractive.bird.that. had.an.undesirable.habit.of.feeding.on.grain—until.by.the.early.twentieth. century. they. realized. they. got. their. dream.. The. Carolina. parakeet. was. a. pest;.a.modern.perspective.on.its.possible.extinction.would.be.like.imagin- ing.the.extinction.of.the.gypsy.moth.(Lymantria dispar)..But,.nonfarmers.who. enjoyed.seeing.this.beautiful.bird.without.experiencing.the.economic.losses. of.its.feeding.habits.began.to.miss.its.presence. The. concept. of. setting. aside. undeveloped. land. for. the. sole. purpose. of. protecting. a. species. of. no. direct. economic. value. was. anathema. to. many,. if. not. most,. Americans. in. the. nineteenth.