THE Review of UIF law just published my article Tarnish Gold: The Endangered Species Act at 50. Here is the abstract:
The ESA is arguably the most powerful and stringent federal environmental law in existence. Yet for all the law’s strength and ambition, it is unclear how much the law has done to achieve its primary purpose: the conservation of endangered species. The law has been slow to recover listed species and has fostered land-use conflicts and scientific determinations that frustrate cooperative conservation efforts. The article aims to take stock of the successes and failures of the ESA during its first fifty years, particularly as it relates to the conservation of species’ habitats on private lands. While the law authorizes powerful regulatory tools for species conservation, there are serious questions about whether such tools are the most effective means of conserving species and the habitats on which they rely. Given that most species rely on private lands for their survival, the law’s ability to promote conservation of private lands will influence the law’s overall success.
This article is based on a presentation I gave at the 2nd Annual Forum on the Environment: Science and Public Choice, sponsored by the Environmental Finance and Risk Management Program (EFRM) of the Institute of Environment at Florida International University on March 8, 2023 The same number as Review of UIF law features additional articles on environmental law and policy from the interdisciplinary symposium, including transcripts of Bret Stephens’ remarks and articles by Matthew Burgess, Michael Buschbacher, Henrique Schneider, Nancy McLaughlin, Mario Loyola and Joanne Spalding, and Andres Restrepo.