Six Biological Reasons Why the Endangered Species Act Doesn't Work—And What to Do About It

Abstract: Law plays an important role in shaping land management decisions. The success of efforts to conserve biodiversity thus depends to a large degree on how well scientific knowledge is translated into public policy. Unfortunately, the Endangered Species Act, the United States's strongest legal tool for conserving bidodiversity, contains serious biological flaws. The statute itself, as well us agency regulations and policies that implement the law include provisions that fail to account accurately for important biological concepts such us ecosystem conservation, patch dynamics, and the probabilistic nature of stochastic threats to a species' persistence. Moreover, the procedures of federal agencies charged with implementing the Endangered Species Act in some cases make it difficult for interested outside reviewers to evaluate the agencies' scientific findings and methodology. However, the Endangered Species Act also gives interested individuals and groups several opportunities to provide input into the process of managing threatened and endangered species. Conservation biologists should practice focused advocacy by taking advantage of such opportunities to steer law in a more biologically sound direction.