The Endangered Species Act (ESA) turns 50 years old today and this milestone serves as a benchmark on which to measure its progress. In the face of habitat loss, climate change, and other threats, the law has prevented 99 percent of the species listed for protection from going extinct. For me, being able to work on implementing this law is one aspect of being part of a mission larger than myself, that of ensuring the wondrous biodiversity on Earth continues long after I am gone. Even though my current job has taken me mostly away from fieldwork, I am satisfied knowing that the policy guidance I provide has played a role in positively shaping conservation efforts on the ground.
“The purposes of this Act are to provide a means whereby the ecosystems upon which endangered species and threatened species depend may be conserved…”
Section 2(b) of the Endangered Species Act
I first encountered the ESA in my professional life through my studies in landscape ecology and public policy, and my acceptance into the Directorate Fellows Program—being placed in the National Wildlife Refuge System (which I later made a silly video about). During my time there, I tackled wildlife refuge related issues, including incorporating the human dimensions element into landscape conservation. As a fellow, I was given the opportunity to travel throughout the Northeastern United States to visit diverse landscapes protected by Refuges. I got to meet refuge managers and staff, friends groups, and other organizations who all shared a passion for threatened and endangered (T&E) species. At the end of my fellowship, I became convinced that conserving ecosystems was one of the most fundamental building blocks in protecting T&E species.
(more…)