The Endangered Species Act (ESA) in the 110th Congress: Conflicting Values and Difficult Choices

Publication Date: January 2007

Publisher: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

Author(s):

Research Area: Environment

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Abstract:

The 110th Congress is likely to oversee implementation and funding of the Endangered Species Act (ESA; P.L. 93-205, 16 U.S.C. ??1531-1543) and to consider proposals to amend the act. Major issues in recent years have included the role of science in decision-making, critical habitat (CH) designation and procedures, protection by and incentives for property owners, and appropriate protection of listed species, among others. In addition, many have advocated enacting as law some ESA regulations promulgated during the Clinton Administration.

ESA has been one of the more contentious environmental laws. This may stem from its strict substantive provisions, which can affect the use of both federal and nonfederal lands and resources. Under ESA, species of plants and animals (both vertebrate and invertebrate) can be listed as endangered or threatened according to assessments of their risk of extinction. Once a species is listed, powerful legal tools are available to aid its recovery and protect its habitat. ESA may also be controversial because dwindling species are usually harbingers of broader ecosystem decline: the most common cause of species listing is habitat loss.

The authorization for spending under ESA expired on October 1, 1992. The prohibitions and requirements of ESA remain in force, even in the absence of an authorization, and funds have been appropriated to implement the administrative provisions of ESA in each subsequent fiscal year. In the 109th Congress, several proposals would have reauthorized and extensively amended ESA, but none were enacted. Proponents of modifying ESA argued that their proposed changes would have made ESA more effective by redefining the relationship between private and public property uses and species protection, implementing new incentives for species conservation, and removing what some see as undue land use restrictions. However, critics argued that the proposed changes would have created gaps in the ESA safety net of protections and prohibitions.

This report will identify and discuss oversight issues and legislation introduced in the 110th Congress to address specific concerns related to how ESA is implemented and how endangered species are managed, and will be updated periodically to reflect legislative action.