Gutting The Endangered Species Act Could Have Far-Reaching Consequences

Last week, the Trump administration released its’ Fiscal Year 2019 Interior Budget, highlighting plans to zero out grant funding for the Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund.

Over the past four decades, the Endangered Species Act has helped prevent the extinction of hundreds of wildlife species threatened by overfishing, habitat loss, hunting, and other dangers with help from the Cooperative Endangered Species Fund. In fiscal year 2018, the fund received approximately $53,132. In 2019, President Donald Trump and Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke will carve out a generous zero dollars for program funding, posing an incredibly dangerous threat to wildlife.

Authorized by the Endangered Species Act, the Cooperative Endangered Species program provides funding to states and territories for species and habitat conservation on non-federal lands. To receive funding from the Interior Department, a state or territory under the Cooperative Endangered Species program must enter in to an agreement with Zinke, a man planning to prioritize energy and mineral development over conservation.

Overlooking funds for state ESA grants could be dire, considering Earth’s sixth mass extinction is currently in progress. Losing these animals from our ecosystem would disrupt biodiversity and cause a domino effect of further extinctions. Whole ecosystems of animal and plant life provide us with nourishment and life-saving medicines. If we lose them, we lose all benefits provided by them. The water we drink, the air we breathe, and the food we eat will all be affected by the disappearance of these endangered animals.

Take, for example, bees.

The Rusty Patched Bumble Bee is a species preserved under the ESA. In the past 20 years, its’ population has declined by 87%. These bees manage to pollinate wildflowers, cranberries, apples, and blueberries. They are also the only insect pollinator of tomatoes. They not only feed us, they create seeds and fruits that feed other wildlife as well. Pollination is required for plant reproduction, and plants are the base of the food chain.

The current administration is more concerned with economic growth than environmental protections. House Representative Rob Bishop (R-Utah) has been trying to gut the ESA with bills he’s pushed out of the Natural Resources Committee over the past year. Bills with measures that would force the federal government to consider the economic impact of saving a species rather than making a scientific call. Bills that prevent citizens and conservation groups from filing court claims against the government. Bills that would remove protections for gray wolves from the Midwestern states I love.

Polar Bears are facing decimation due to polar ice caps melting. Red wolves are being shot by hunters and private landowners. Scientists estimate as many as 30 to 50 percent of species are heading toward extinction by mid-century. The truth stands. Animals are dying out.

And the process will only go faster without federal grant funding.

If you would like to help protect endangered species from extinction, visit NRDC to donate in their fight to defend wildlife.