For over three decades, the Endangered Species Act has served as America's safety net for wildlife. It has saved hundreds of species from extinction, put hundreds more on the road to recovery and safeguarded the habitats upon which they depend. The purpose of the Endangered Species Act is simple: to prevent America's native fish, plants and wildlife from going extinct. To date, the Endangered Species Act has been 99 percent successful in achieving this goal of preventing extinctions.
Safe drinking water, cancer-curing drugs, and tourism jobs are all direct yet often ignored benefits of protecting wildlife and habitat. For too long, the debate over the Endangered Species Act has focused on the costs and not the benefits of conserving wildlife. Industry claims of hundreds of millions of dollars in losses propagate the perception that the Act is an expensive luxury Americans cannot afford. This argument against the Endangered Species Act is one-sided and false.
Losing wildlife to extinction is what Americans truly cannot afford. From providing cures to deadly diseases to maintaining natural ecosystems to improving overall quality of life, the benefits of preserving threatened and endangered species are invaluable.
De-emphasizing the benefits and overstating the costs of protection undermines efforts to protect wildlife. In contrast, providing funding support for the Endangered Species Act is an investment in the future. Healthy populations of fish, plants and wildlife mean healthy rivers, lakes, grasslands, beaches and forests. For people, this means a healthier and safer America.
