On the Wrong Track: Why the Endangered Species Act Isn’t Enough

• Dr. Karen I. Shragg
• January 22, 2022
• Forum Papers
• Forum Paper
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ON THE WRONG TRACK: WHY THE
ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT ISN’T ENOUGH
An NPG Forum Paper
by Karen I. Shragg
January 2022

“It’s been a long time coming, it’s going to be a long time gone.”
Crosby, Stills & Nash

FLORA AND FAUNA: RELEVANT, NECESSARY, AND DECLINING

I know many people who care deeply about wildlife. Thanks to their efforts, the Bald Eagle, the Peregrine Falcon, the Trumpeter Swan, the Brown Pelican and others have made impressive recoveries, but not without a lot of effort and expenditure. Their future is not secure, and the rates of extinctions are accelerating at a rapid pace.

With funny names like the Texas Pimpleback, the Pink Pigtoe or the Guadelupe Fatmucket, these unfortunate clams have the not-so-funny distinction of being recommended for listing as endangered by the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). The USFWS tracks these clams and many other species of fish, birds, insects, mammals, conifers, and lichens precariously dangling on the edge of extinction. They are suffering from what agencies like to call “habitat loss”, or “habitat degradation”. But what is really behind the loss of habitat for everything from the Lesser Prairie Chicken to the Hermes Copper Butterfly?

We are now living in what scientists are calling the sixth mass extinction. While the earth lost 95% of its species during the third and largest mass extinction during the Permian Period, the last period of the Paleozoic Era, the difference is that no humans were around in those pre-historic times to blame. The previous extinctions were caused by catastrophic climatic and atmospheric events. Now the blame can be laid at the feet of humans, not only due to our fossil fuel consumption habits but also by our sheer, overwhelming numbers.

During my 35-year career as a naturalist I tried to teach empathy for the earth, its systems, flora and fauna. I often felt that the messages my students were getting from their schoolrooms, scout groups, and athletic activities countered that. Now we can add social media to the list of ways children are taught to focus on a world run by and for humans. From when we are small children, most of us learn that people matter to the exclusion of all other species even though we depend on them for everything in our food supply and the sense of wildness in our hearts. According to the National Resources Defense Council, one out of every three bites of food we eat requires bees to pollinate them. From pumpkins to tomatoes and blueberries, the way bee colonies are dying off should be of tremendous concern to us, yet we remain disconnected from this essential slice of nature’s operating system.

Mainstream media also gives us a very anthropocentric viewpoint. The news is full of what happens to people. If there is a flood, we are told how many homes and lives were lost. If there is a fire, tornado or any other disaster the focus is the same. No one bothers to calculate the loss of wildlife and native plants, unless a bird is discovered dripping in oil. “If it bleeds, it leads,” has long been the mantra for the news media with a mission to increase viewership. As species continue to disappear mostly in silence, the news cycle must take much of the blame for they continue to portray the same narrative, that people matter more than the species that are the building blocks of life.

The animals that make up the category of amphibians may seem inconsequential at first blush, but they let us know how polluted our wetlands have become. Frogs, toads and salamanders live near the bottom of the food chain, eating insects and in turn become much needed nutrition for herons, turtles, racoons and others more familiar to us. They inhabit wetlands, which are wildlife nurseries when protected from development and pollution. Wetlands provide flood protection as they are able to absorb fast rising waters. Sadly, the Center for Biodiversity now alerts its readers to the demise of these critical species due to the loss of these essential habitats. Amphibians now have the highest rate of endangerment with a third or more of their 6,300 known species headed towards extinction.

Few are teaching children that other species are a part of a very significant story which is connected to their well-being. They grow up into adults married to their phones which help to carry on the false narrative that only homo sapiens deserve our attention. These young people do not join those enlightened few who are screaming about the loss of bees and butterflies in my small corner of the world. Now we hear in the mainstream media, which must mean that it is finally true, that a myriad of new species are being listed as extinct, including the Ivory Billed Woodpecker. It is no surprise to me.

GROWTH IS THE ENEMY OF THE NATURAL WORLD

There is no doubt about it, growth of the entire human enterprise is behind the decline of the natural world. Our fossil fuel based global economies are structured so that they must grow or die, so grow they do, eating up the natural capital of water, minerals, wood, etc. along the way. Growth isn’t just economic, however; it is about the multiplying of our numbers. While humans have been poor at heeding the edicts of “Thou shalt not kill,” we get high marks for following the commandment to “go forth and multiply,” the one biblical commandment we have accomplished in overdrive…Continue reading the full Forum paper by clicking here.