Defenders of Wildlife Testifies on Opportunities to Collaborate on Improving the Implementation of the Endangered Species Act

Defenders of Wildlife’s vice president of conservation policy Jake Li today testified before the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Fisheries, Water, and Wildlife on opportunities to improve implementation of the Endangered Species Act.  

“I see two timely ways that Congress can help the Fish and Wildlife Service and other federal agencies promote recovery in a manner that enhances transparency and accountability yet minimizes regulatory impacts on landowners,” Li said in his testimony. “First, Congress can encourage agencies to identify new policies that improve how they implement the ESA. Because the ESA is flexible enough to accommodate these improvements, legislation is not required. Second, FWS unequivocally needs the capacity to do this work.”

Li’s testimony emphasized:

• Recommendations to accelerate the recovery process
• Increased flexibility for landowners who conserve listed species
• Investments to improve how the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reviews infrastructure and other projects under the ESA  

Li raised serious concerns about the recent precipitous staff losses at FWS, describing an agency that is “more diminished than ever to meet its mission, deadlines and the ever-growing expectations of the agency."

In response to a question from Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) regarding staffing, funding and morale of FWS under the Trump administration, Li highlighted workforce declines within the Ecological Services program, which oversees ESA operations.

“The program I used to run—the Ecological Services—which oversees the Endangered Species Act, has lost nearly 25% of its staff,” Li said. “This is hundreds and hundreds of people—and you can’t have staff losses like that overnight without huge morale hits to the very difficult work to implement in the Endangered Species Act. Yet there is an expectation to expedite permitting too. You can’t have both at the same time—you can’t have staff that are down beaten and expect them to do the most brilliant work when 25% of their colleagues disappeared overnight. That’s a real issue, and Congress can address it with more investments in the Service." 

Policy ideas discussed during the hearing reflect bipartisan support for advancements that can be achieved without new legislation. Defenders of Wildlife urges committee members to consider the recommendations outlined in Li’s testimony to strengthen the implementation of the ESA and increase funding for FWS. 

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