Threatened And Endangered Species Recovery Act Of 2005

Witnesses: Jamie Clark, Dir., U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service; Terry Garcia, Acting Assist. Sec., NOAA; Marc Racicot, Gov., State of Montana; Michael Bean, dir., Environmental Defense Fund, James A. McClure, Nat. Endangered Species Act Reform Coalition; W. Henson Moore, on behalf of the Endangered Species Coordinating Council; Duane Shroufe, Arizona Dept. of Game & Fish; & Mark Van Putten, dir., Nat. Wildlife Fed. Additional material: Endangered Species Recovery Act; & prepared statements by Coalition on the Environment & Jewish Life, Evangelical Envir. Network, Nat. Assoc. of Home Builders, & Nat. Assoc. of Realtors.

This handbook is a guide to the federal Endangered Species Act, the primary U.S. law aimed at protecting species of animals and plants from human threats to their survival. It is intended for lawyers, government agency employees, students, community activists, businesspeople, and any citizen who wants to understand the Act--its history, provisions, accomplishments, and failures.

The black-footed ferret, once thought extinct, was rediscovered in Wyoming in 1981. In this book, Tim Clark tells the story of subsequent efforts to save the black-footed ferret, showing how it points up the necessity of finding new ways to conserve and restore species. According to Clark, the problems facing conservation are not fundamentally biological but stem from human systems -- policy decisions, organizational priorities, and professional rivalries. The focus in conservation, he says, must shift from science to practical problem solving.Clark first describes and analyzes efforts to restore the black-footed ferret after 1981 and looks at the processes, people, institutions, and programs that were involved in that endeavor. Finding that the ferret case illustrates many things that go wrong in the implementation of complex environmental policy, Clark then proposes fresh approaches to endangered species recovery. He gives guidelines for improving decisionmaking and development of policies; for devising organizational strategies and structures that are more conducive to learning; and for a new civic professionalism that will raise the standards for performance and better meet society's needs. This policy-oriented approach, he contends, will open up new avenues, methods, and hope for species recovery.A very important work that will be widely read, discussed, and argued. -- Steven J. Bissell, Colorado Division of WildlifeA valuable contribution to a general science policy field where clear and sophisticated thinking is rare. -- Garry D. Brewer, School of Natural Resources and the Environment, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor