A Much-Needed Win for Wildlife: Senate Introduces Bill to Improve Endangered Species Act Implementation

Senators Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Pete Ricketts (R-NE) yesterday introduced the Improving Species Recovery Act, an important bipartisan bill that would improve implementation of the Endangered Species Act. The legislation was informed by the Senate Environmental and Public Works Fisheries, Water, and Wildlife Subcommittee's March 2026 hearing, "Challenges and Opportunities with Implementing the Endangered Species Act," where Defenders' Jake Li, vice president of conservation policy, testified on recommended solutions to strengthen implementation of the bedrock conservation law.  

"We applaud Senators Schiff and Ricketts' effort to pass a thoughtful, bipartisan bill to strengthen the implementation of the Endangered Species Act — our nation's most effective conservation law responsible for recovering 99% of the species under its protection since its inception," said Andrew Bowman, president and CEO of Defenders of Wildlife. “This legislation is another step forward for endangered species conservation and a model for cross-party collaboration. We hope to see this trend continue."

The Act aims to accelerate species recovery, strengthen stakeholder collaboration and expedite interagency reviews.  The bill directly addresses the following challenges:  

• Incentivize Voluntary Conservation: Encourages private landowners and states to protect species early by establishing clear standards for pre-listing conservation and defining how voluntary efforts influence listing and delisting decisions.    
• Reward Recovery Progress: Introduces measurable “conservation milestones” that, once achieved, grant landowners and agencies greater regulatory flexibility and priority access to conservation funding.    
• Improve Data and Transparency: Mandates establishing a clear “baseline status” for species at the time of listing to better understand the threats and the species biological condition and requires public reporting every three years to track recovery progress, species trends, and data gaps.    
• Use Technology to Improve Interagency Reviews: Directs FWS to expand digital tools (like IPaC) and explore AI technology to automate and fast-track interagency consultation and review processes while remaining in compliance with the law.

"The ESA is a highly successful law, but effective implementation is key to that success, said Mike Leahy, vice president of government relations at Defenders of Wildlife. “This promising development is a model for updating wildlife policies and protections. We’re proud of the role Defenders played in contributing to this impact.”

We will continue to work with Congress to identify solutions to long-standing challenges facing wildlife.

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