| A majority of Americans worry that the government is doing too little to protect the environment. They might be surprised to learn that some government policies are making it harder to protect wildlife and fight climate change. The United States has a long history of environmental protection. In 1872, President Ulysses S. Grant signed the Yellowstone National Park Protection Act into law, creating the world’s first national park. Three decades later, Teddy Roosevelt earned his title as the “conservation president” by establishing the U.S. Forest Service, signing the Antiquities Act, and proclaiming 18 U.S. national monuments. Later in the century, President Nixon created the Environmental Protection Agency and President Reagan joined fellow world leaders in signing the Montreal Protocol. Throughout American history, common-sense environmental policies have conserved our landscapes and wildlife. As the most pressing environmental issues have changed, some of our laws on the subject have proven insufficient — and even counterproductive. Take, for example, the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Since the ESA was signed into law in 1973, it has helped protect hundreds of threatened and endangered species, as well as their ecosystems. Thanks to the ESA, the iconic Bald Eagle and American Alligator have been brought back from the brink of extinction. Yet, despite these victories, as successive administrations have layered on new rules to the Endangered Species Act over the decades, it has placed a significant burden on Americans. The threat of heavy-handed enforcement of the Endangered Species Act has turned some landowners into enemies of wildlife conservation efforts. This dynamic has led private landowners to “shoot, shovel, and shut up” upon discovering an endangered species on their property — fearing aggressive government action that would jeopardize their livelihoods. Clearly, if hard-working Americans feel that it is better to kill a threatened species instead of complying with the Endangered Species Act, then a policy update is overdue. Read more from ConservAmerica Policy Advisor Quill Robinson here. |
