[PCA] NEWS: Performance of the ESA by Mark Schwartz, UC Davis

[Olivia Kwong]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
The Performance of the Endangered Species Act
Mark W. Schwartz
Department of Environmental Science and Policy, University of California,
Davis, CA 95616;
email: mwschwartz at ucdavis.edu

Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics
Vol. 39: 279-299 (Volume publication date December 2008)

Abstract
Arguably the most notable success of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) is
that listed species improve in status through time. More species are 
downlisted than the converse; more species transition from stable to 
improving status than the converse. Although some listed species have gone 
extinct, this number is smaller than expected. Given modest recovery 
funding, the fraction of listed species responding positively is 
remarkable. Several factors have been linked to improving species status 
including recovery expenditures, critical habitat listing, and time spent 
under protection. The inability of government to fully empower the 
agencies to implement the law has been the most notable failure of the 
ESA. Listing of species has not matched need, recovery expenditures do not 
match need or agency-set priorities, and critical habitat determinations 
have lagged. Alternative protection strategies to listing may be having a 
positive effect, but are difficult to assess because of sparse data.

The full electronic article is available only through subscription (i.e.,
http://arjournals.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev.ecolsys.39.110707.173538).
  But, the article is well-written and raises several important issues that
are worth looking into!