MEDIA ADVISORY
For immediate release
February 27, 2006

American Scientific Societies weigh in on Endangered Species Debate

This spring, it is anticipated that the U.S. Senate will consider changes to the Endangered Species Act (E.S.A.). Many of the proposed changes involve scientific issues and how science, research, and scientists advance the conservation of endangered plants and animals.

Six scientific organizations developed and today issue a statement on science and the E.S.A. Representing over 25,000 scientists and natural resource managers in the United States , the multi-society statement is intended to provide scientific guidance to Members of Congress and their staff as they develop, amend, and vote on legislation related to the E.S.A.

The professional societies are the Ecological Society of America, the Society for Conservation Biology—North America, The Wildlife Society, the Society for Range Management, the American Fisheries Society, and the Entomological Society of America.

“The recommendations we offer policy makers come from member experts of several scientific societies experienced in both theory and practice of species management,” says Nancy Grimm, of Arizona State University and President of the Ecological Society of America. “ Our combined memberships feature outstanding independent experts who not only have the scientific training pertinent to understanding management of endangered species, but who also have very creative ideas about how we might better achieve the goals of the Act.”

The statement offers a list of important recommendations to Congress including:

• Dedicate funding to surveys and genetic analysis so that we can learn how to save the most poorly known and rare plants in America ;
• Federal agencies already use the best scientific data, but creation of an independent science advisory committee could help enhance the scientific basis for the most important agency decisions;
• Many of America 's plants and animals are not being protected by the E.S.A. and are going extinct. Agencies need to adopt better scientific criteria to decide when species are endangered and use those criteria to protect disappearing species more quickly.
• Science should play a lead role in planning how to recover plants and animals, and agencies need greater flexibility to amend recovery plans when new information becomes available.
• The United States needs more accountability in endangered species management—agencies should be required to produce better reports documenting the status of wildlife recovery efforts.
• Many species are so endangered that they cannot recover without more high quality habitat. Congress could improve the odds that many endangered plants and animals would recover if there were tools to protect such essential, unoccupied habitat and to help re-establish species within such habitat.

The societies agree that all of the above recommendations are moot if the law continues to be hamstrung by lack of funding. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, more than 200 endangered plants animals received $500 or less in recovery funding in 2004.

The full statement is available at: www.esa.org/esaPositions/