By Jeremy Nichols, Endangered Species Program Director, Biodiversity Conservation Alliance

Senator Thomas would do well to remember the old adage that "if it ain't broke, don't fix it."

In announcing a hearing on August 23 in Casper to discuss the Endangered Species Act, the Senator states in a release that the recovery rate of species protected under this landmark conservation law is "unacceptable" and that "improvements" in the law are needed.

To set the record straight, Senator Thomas hits the mark when he says that recovery rates for wildlife, fish, and plants protected under the Endangered Species Act could be improved. While the peregrine falcon and black-footed ferret are incredible recovery achievements that would not have happened without the Act, 14 species in 30 years isn't much.

Unfortunately, Senator Thomas entirely misses the mark in his assertion that the Endangered Species Act is to blame for slow recovery.

The Endangered Species Act is a safety net for species on the brink of extinction. The Act requires the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to use the most rigorous science available when developing common sense and balanced solutions to protect and recover threatened and endangered fish, wildlife, and plants. The Endangered Species Act also protects the critical habitat needed to provide for the recovery of species. Because of the Endangered Species Act, the extinction of hundreds of species has been prevented, including Wyoming species like black-footed ferret.

If the Endangered Species Act is not broken, why then the dismal recovery rate?

The problem is the way the law is being implemented. The Endangered Species Act provides a sound framework for species conservation, but bureaucratic footdragging and agency ambivalence are preventing efforts to effectively put this framework into action.

To begin with, the Fish and Wildlife Service is purposefully underfunding its conservation efforts. Although the Service often claims they don't have enough money to protect and recover wildlife, fish, and plants under the Endangered Species Act, a review of their annual budget requests reveals that year after year the agency requests only a fraction of the money that is needed to properly implement the Act. For instance, this year it has requested only $17 million of the total $153 million needed to address the backlog of endangered species listings.

Any law would be ineffective if funds aren't provided to support its basic implementation.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service also has a dismal record of protecting habitat that is critical to the recovery of threatened and endangered species. Studies show that the most effective way to recover species on the brink of extinction is to protect the places they call home. Reports prepared by the Fish and Wildlife Service echo these findings, showing that species with protected critical habitat are twice as likely to recover than species without. Unfortunately, only 34% of species listed under the Endangered Species Act have had critical habitat protected. This has left over 800 listed species languishing without this vital recovery mechanism.

Bureaucratic stonewalling is also hindering recovery of threatened and endangered species in other regards. One example is the Ute ladies' tresses, a threatened orchid found in Wyoming and several other western states. In 1995, groups petitioned to remove the orchid from the list of threatened species. Despite being required to respond to such petitions within 90-days, nearly 10 years later, the Fish and Wildlife Service has not responded to this request. By ignoring its duties under the Endangered Species Act, the Service has effectively stopped the Endangered Species Act process in its tracks.

When the Endangered Species Act is implemented effectively, the law and its processes clearly work. A perfect example of this is the Preble's meadow jumping mouse. Last December, Governor Freudenthal submitted a petition to remove the Preble's from the list of threatened wildlife based on new information that was not available when the species was originally protected. As required by law, the Fish and Wildlife Service responded to the petition within 90-days and is now reviewing in detail the status of the Preble's. Come December, the Service will decide whether to continue protecting the mouse or remove it from the threatened list.

Regardless of the ultimate outcome, there can be no denying that the process is working well. The Fish and Wildlife Service has met its Congressionally mandated deadlines, is completing an in-depth review of the best available scientific information, including previously unavailable genetic studies, and will make a final decision within the year. All this without any lawsuits.

The Endangered Species Act can work like a well-oiled machine-when the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service wants it to. The problem today is not that the Endangered Species Act is broken, it's that the agency in charge of carrying out this landmark conservation law has been slacking. Overtly anti-conservation political appointees only make the situation worse. To paraphrase Senator Thomas, this situation is completely "unacceptable."

The Endangered Species Act provides an invaluable safety net for wildlife, fish, and plants that are on the brink of extinction. Extinction is forever, and the Act has done well to provide a vital rescue line for over 1,000 species. Although recovery has been slow, it is not because the Endangered Species Act has failed.

We owe it to our children and grandchildren to be good stewards of the environment and leave behind a legacy of healthy wildlife, fish, and plant populations and the special places they call home. Hopefully Senator Thomas will share in this responsibility and take on agency roadblocks that are stifling effective implementation of the Endangered Species Act.