A Warning About the Threat to the Endangered Species Act

"The Endangered Species Act [pdf], which played a significant role in saving the bald eagle and the California condor from extinction, is now itself endangered," according to the Los Angeles Times Editorial Board.

The editorial pins the blame for the looming setbacks for the Endangered Species Act to the consequences of an election that turned total control of the federal government to the Republican Party. The consequences for the environment, should the party achieve its goals of rolling back environmental regulations like the Endangered Species Act, could be dire:

Were Congress and President Trump to accede to the demands of anti-regulatory zealots and gut the nature-protecting act, it would be calamitous for hundreds of plant and animal species, local ecosystems, and the complex interconnections that sustain the natural world.

The editorial proceeds to respond to the arguments for reform of the Endangered Species Act proffered by Republicans like Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.).