Yes, the Endangered Species Act prevents extinction. But why don’t we recover more species?

45 years after the Endangered Species Act was enacted, it is as popular and as controversial as ever. Its popularity … More

By issuing permits allowing counties to resume implementing Utah’s plan to protect prairie dogs, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service chooses cooperation over conflict to protect species

This week, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service issued permits to several counties in Southwestern Utah allowing them to resume … More

The elephant trophy ban that wasn’t: after dizzying flip-flops, will the US continue to support hunting-based conservation programs?

Although the Endangered Species Act generally forbids the hunting of rare species, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service can permit … More

Showdown at the border(wall): the environmental perils of opposing all federal permitting reform

This week, a federal judge upheld the Department of Homeland Security’s decision to exempt construction of the border wall from … More

How much would you pay to protect endangered species? Let environmentalists chip in to expedite the process of listing species under the Endangered Species Act

Voluntary conservation to the gopher tortoise’s rescue

So many environmental issues lead to conflict that it’s easy to think that such conflict is inevitable. But it needn’t … More

In 2018, will the federal government be an ally in the fight against overcriminalization?

In this year’s pre-Christmas news dump, the Department of Interior announced it was reversing the agency’s prior interpretation of the … More

Environmental bureaucracy undermines the trust needed to promote conservation

Trust is important, especially so for conservation. Successful conservation depends on the collaboration of many people: environmentalists, scientists, property owners, … More

Matching the Endangered Species Act’s incentives with its ethics

It looks increasingly likely that Congress will attempt to overhaul the Endangered Species Act next year. Rob Bishop, chairman of … More

Even if you don’t think hunting is pretty, it’s an effective conservation tool

I am not the person you’d expect to be an outspoken supporter of hunting as a conservation tool. I’ve been … More