Intrastate Species and the Endangered Species Act
What do polar bears and Florida panthers, plants like the Arizona cliffrose and large-flowered fiddleneck and lesser-known species like Smith’s blue butterfly and Tar River spinymussel have in common? They are threatened or endangered species that are found in only one state! They are among more than 1,200 species that are listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), live in just one state and are at risk of losing protections.
The ESA is widely considered the strongest law in the world for protecting species threatened by extinction. It has also been a major success here at home in protecting imperiled species and their habitat; the American alligator, piping plover, whooping crane and sea otter are all success stories in wildlife conservation because of the protections of the ESA. Some people think this effective federal law should only protect species that occur in multiple states and are looking for court decisions or changes to the law to remove protections from single-state (that is, intrastate) species. Landowners have sued — but lost so far — to remove ESA protections from the Utah prairie dog and other intrastate species. The Lee amendment, a budget amendment that was recently defeated in the U.S. Senate, would have removed protections from intrastate species legislatively.
While we know instinctively that limiting the scope of the ESA would be bad for many species, we haven’t had a firm grasp of how many species would be affected. But now we do: Defenders has created a simple web app that lets anyone see how many listed species occur in each state and across the nation, as well as how many species live in only one state. The information comes from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the agency responsible for implementing and enforcing the ESA for listed species. We scan their website every night for any changes and update the app accordingly.
This app highlights just how many species would lose out if ESA protections were removed and only species that live in multiple states could be protected. As of today, some 73% of ESA-listed species — 1,214 plants, birds, mammals, and other species — occur in just one state and would lose federal protections. By percentages, the biggest losses would occur in Hawaii, where 99% of ESA-listed species occur only in that state; for 86% of listed species in California; and for 73% of listed in Texas.
Check out our app to learn how many of your state’s species, and those from other states, could be affected if the ESA is weakened by ignoring nearly three-quarters of currently protected species.
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