Our work to protect the Preble's meadow jumping mouse and its biologically-important streamside habitat is also affecting how the Endangered Species Act is interpreted. © Anne Ruggles
The Endangered Species Act is one of our nation’s legacy environmental laws, enacted by President Richard Nixon in 1973. Public opinion polls show that an overwhelming majority of Americans support the Act and its capacity to recover species on the brink of extinction. Notable Endangered Species Act success stories include the biological recovery of the bald eagle, peregrine falcon, and the grey whale.
The aim of our Endangered Species Act Defense campaign is to defend this cornerstone conservation law from legislative and administrative attacks, and to improve its implementation through increased appropriations, reduced political interference in biological decisions, and improved implementation processes. We work with the Endangered Species Coalition, the main national-level organization, in shaping endangered species advocacy and defending the Act from political interference.
Many key precedents about the application of protective laws like the Endangered Species Act are being set in the Southern Rockies. These precedents have far reaching effects and should be of concern to conservation advocates across the country. For example, the recent split decision regarding protection for the Preble’s meadow jumping mouse represents the first clean legal opportunity to challenge a current misinterpretation of the law regarding the “significant portion of the range” for an endangered species, and we will head the coalition of national-level organizations interested in litigating this issue. Center for Native Ecosystems continues to play a central role in ensuring that regional Endangered Species Act-level decisions ensure the highest possible level of protection for our most imperiled species.
“Nothing is more priceless and more worthy of preservation than the rich array of animal life with which our country has been blessed.”
-President Richard Nixon, signing the Endangered Species Act, December 28, 1973
