For Immediate Release, May 18, 2023
Contact: |
Noah Greenwald, (503) 484-7495, ngreenwald@biologicaldiversity.org |
10 Reasons to Celebrate Endangered Species Act on Endangered Species Day
PORTLAND, Ore.— To celebrate National Endangered Species Day tomorrow and the 50th anniversary of the Endangered Species Act this year, the Center for Biological Diversity is highlighting 10 reasons to be grateful for the Act — one of the United States’ bedrock environmental laws. Since it was passed in 1973, the Act has saved species, secured habitats and protected entire ecosystems.
These accomplishments span the country and highlight how much this landmark law has done to protect the natural world for future generations. They include:
Learn more about the 50th anniversary of the Act, including the Center’s new report, “A Promise to the Wild,” touting its accomplishments.
“Our world is so much richer and so much wilder because of the Endangered Species Act,” said Noah Greenwald, endangered species director at the Center. “There are more birds singing, more frogs chirping, more sea turtles swimming and more wolves howling because of what the Act has accomplished over the past 50 years. It’s extraordinary.”
Despite the tremendous success of the Endangered Species Act, it’s continued to come under attack by corporate-funded Republicans in Congress. With the help of Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.V.), Congressional Republicans recently voted to strip the highly endangered lesser prairie chicken of endangered species protections. They’re also considering bills to strip northern long-eared bats and grizzly bears of protection.
“Instead of trying to yank protections from clearly imperiled animals, Congress should be increasing funding for endangered species recovery,” Greenwald said. “The Endangered Species Act is our best tool for addressing the extinction crisis and it continues to save plants and wildlife from coast to coast.”
The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 1.7 million members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places.