Innovations for Endangered Species Recovery

40 years after enactment of the Endangered Species Act, shifting public priorities remain an uphill battle.

99th Annual Meeting
The Ecological Society of America

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Thursday, August 7, 2014
Contact: Terence Houston 202 833-8773 x224; gro.asenull@ecneret
Liza Lester (202) 833-8773 x 211; gro.asenull@retsell

Conservation researchers and managers will discuss how prospects for endangered species recovery have changed since the Endangered Species Act (ESA) was passed in 1973 and present innovative strategies for improving the act’s implementation on August 12^th, 2014, at Ecological Society of America’s 99^th Annual Meeting in Sacramento, California.

The session is spearheaded by American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Policy Fellow Daniel M. Evans.

“Innovation will be key to implementing the ESA in the coming decades because the ecological threats to at-risk species are pervasive and persistent; many listed species are conservation reliant, requiring ongoing management for the foreseeable future; and climate change will continue to shuffle the mix of species in ecosystems, increasing both extinction risk and management uncertainty,” said Evans.

“Moreover, throughout the ESA’s 40-year history, government funding has been insufficient to recover most listed species, and without a dramatic shift in public priorities funding for endangered and threatened species will likely remain insufficient,” he said.

The speakers assembled for the symposium will discuss ways to address these problems. Dale Goble, a Professor of Law at the University of Idaho, will kick off the session by describing how the ESA is a flexible law that permits considerable innovation in its implementation.

J. Michael Scott, a conservation scientist from the US Geological Survey and the University of Idaho, will discuss strategies for recovering and delisting the “conservation-reliant” species that require ongoing management.

University of Texas scientists Camille Parmesean and Matthew Moskwik will present climate-smart strategies to conserve and recover species in the face of rapid climate change.

Rebecca Epanchin-Neil, a resource economist from Resources for the Future, will evaluate and recommend programs for government agencies to partner with private landowners to recover ESA-listed species.

Additional speakers include Maile Neel (University of Maryland), Debby Crouse (US Fish and Wildlife Service), and Healy Hamilton (NatureServe).

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Ecological Society of America’s 99^th Annual Meeting, August 10-15^th, 2014, in Sacramento, Cal.

Main * Program * Press Information * App

Organized oral session 13: Innovations for Endangered Species Recovery
Tuesday, August 12, 2014: 1:30 PM-5:00 PM
Organizer: Daniel M Evans; Co-organizer: Terence Houston

The Quino Checkerspot Butterfly (Euphydryas editha quino) is federally listed as “Endangered” throughout its range in California and New Mexico. Credit, US Fish and Wildlife Service.

The Ecological Society of America is the world’s largest community of professional ecologists and a trusted source of ecological knowledge. ESA is committed to advancing the understanding of life on Earth. The 10,000 member Society publishes five journals, convenes an annual scientific conference, and broadly shares ecological information through policy and media outreach and education initiatives. Visit the ESA website at https://www.esa.org.

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