Harriet Hageman

On Friday, I joined Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) in introducing legislation to rename the Endangered Species Act (ESA) as the Endangered Species Recovery Act. As many of you know, reforming the ESA has been one of my top priorities in Congress.

Over the past 50 years, the ESA has fallen short of its intended purpose. Despite decades of implementation, 97% of listed species remain on the list indefinitely, while only 3% have ever been delisted. This is due in large part to the non-stop efforts to retain species on the list, not because they meet the definition of either “endangered’ or “threatened,” but to control land and water use across the country. One of the clearest examples of this failure is the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s refusal to delist the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE) grizzly bear, despite the fact that the population has long exceeded its recovery targets.

Recoveries like that of the GYE grizzly bear should be celebrated as conservation successes. Instead, activist litigation and judicial overreach have stalled progress and prevented the ESA from fulfilling its mission. As I’ve highlighted repeatedly in committee hearings, many of my colleagues who oppose delisting efforts have not read the ESA and are unable to engage meaningfully on its substance. Again, for them, control is the goal. 

By adding the word “Recovery” to the ESA’s title, our bill aims to refocus the law on its original goal: recovering species and responsibly managing their return to healthy populations. It’s time to bring common sense and accountability back to species conservation.

(Rep. Harriet Hageman is the U.S. representative for Wyoming.)