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Private lands are often critical for successful species conservation, and the US Fish and Wildlife Service has increasingly utilized voluntary Candidate Conservation Agreements with Assurances (CCAAs) as a strategy for promoting private land conservation. CCAAs, however, present a challenge where the FWS, with its history as a regulatory entity, must now engage landowners as conservation partners. There is a deep culture of distrust among landowners, who are often suspicious of engaging with the agency, making it necessary for the FWS to build trusting relationships. Furthermore, FWS decisions often face litigation in the courts, where they may be overturned. This creates a challenge for CCAAs, as the agency is pulled between landowner demands for greater flexibility and a court system that emphasizes rigid compliance to established rules and procedures. This study seeks to understand what factors influenced the flexibility of agency staff and officials as they navigate the process of negotiating CCAAs amidst these competing demands for accountability. Three cases of CCAA development are presented, each aiming to protect the habitat for the greater sage-grouse and ease the regulatory burden on ranching communities, should the grouse become a federally protected species. In addition to the well-documented need for trust-building and maintenance, the findings of the study highlight the importance of shared goals, the participation of trusted intermediary organizations, and as well as the meaningful support and investment of senior FWS leadership in exploring creative, innovative solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Legal classification of species requires scientific and values‐based components, and how those components interact depends on how people frame the decision. Is classification a negotiation of trade‐offs, a decision on how to allocate conservation efforts, or simply a comparison of the biological status of a species to a legal standard? The answers to problem‐framing questions such as these influence decision making in species classifications. In our experience, however, decision makers, staff biologists, and stakeholders often have differing perspectives of the decision problem and assume different framings. In addition to differences between individuals, in some cases it appears individuals themselves are unclear about the decision process, which contributes to regulatory paralysis, litigation, and a loss of trust by agency staff and the public. We present 5 framings: putting species in the right bin, doing right by the species over time, saving the most species on a limited budget, weighing extinction risk against other objectives, and strategic classification to advance conservation. These framings are inspired by elements observed in current classification practices. Putting species in the right bin entails comparing a scientific status assessment with policy thresholds and accounting for potential misclassification costs. Doing right by the species adds a time dimension to the classification decision, and saving the most species on a limited budget classifies a suite of species simultaneously. Weighing extinction risk against other objectives would weigh ecological or socioeconomic concerns in classification decisions, and strategic classification to advance conservation would make negotiation a component of classification. We view these framings as a means to generate thought, discussion, and movement toward selection and application of explicit classification framings. Being explicit about the decision framing could lead decision makers toward more efficient and defensible decisions, reduce internal confusion and external conflict, and support better collaboration between scientists and policy makers. Article impact statement: Explicit decision framing in legal classification of species can reduce conflict and yield more efficient and defensible conservation decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Amid rapid population growth, the fate of many threatened and endangered (T&E) species in the Southeast is closely tied to conservation actions on private lands. Therefore, it is critical to understand how the public values wildlife and public attitudes toward T&E species and management approaches, such as Habitat Conservation Plans (HCPs) - a voluntary approach for private landowners to comply with the Endangered Species Act (ESA). We conducted a mail survey to examine attitudes toward T&E species and HCPs, as well as wildlife value orientations (WVOs), among the general public in four study locations in the Southeast: Charlotte Co. (FL), Cumberland Co. (TN), the Etowah Watershed (GA), and the Lower Flint River Basin (GA). Overall, respondent attitudes toward T&E species and the ESA were positive. However, respondents did not believe the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service would make good decisions regarding endangered species management without public input. Species attitudes, WVOs and ESA knowledge were all significant influences on public support for the ESA; and species attitudes, beliefs about involvement of local communities, and support for the ESA significantly influenced perceptions about HCPs. We conclude that HCPs represent an opportunity to capitalize on support for T&E species and rebuild trust in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service by engaging the public in endangered species management. Highlights • Threatened and endangered species attitudes influence support for the Endangered Species Act. • Limited trust exists that federal agencies make good decisions absent public input. • Agencies could build trust by engaging the public in endangered species management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Endangered Species Act of 1973 continues to be the subject of intense political acrimony. Opponents believe the law is a failure and call for significant changes, whereas proponents resist changes and argue for more funding to implement the statute. We suggest the law has been successful in meeting its core mission of preventing human-caused extinctions, but there are significant challenges with how the law is applied that limit its success. We recommend improvements in implementation that could lessen political controversy while making the act a more effective tool for conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA) employs regulations to protect threatened and endangered species and their habitat on private lands. Complying with ESA regulations can cause economic losses for private landowners; failure to comply can result in fines and imprisonment. Current policies may create an economic disincentive for maintaining habitat for listed species on private lands, thus undermining the very purpose of the ESA. This study examined a purposive sample of key family forest landowners' perspectives on the ESA. An electronic survey was administered to members of national and state forestry organizations across the United States (N = 928). Multiple linear regression analysis showed that respondents' attitudes toward the ESA, private property norms, and past behavior were significant predictors of their behavioral intention to participate in potential incentive programs. Results revealed key family forest landowners' perspectives on species conservation, with implications for future policy changes that could lead to more effective protection of listed species in the United States. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Population models can facilitate assessment of potential impacts of pesticides on populations or species rather than individuals and have been identified as important tools for pesticide risk assessment of nontarget species including those listed under the Endangered Species Act. Few examples of population models developed for this specific purpose are available; however, population models are commonly used in conservation science as a tool to project the viability of populations and the long‐term outcomes of management actions. We present a population model for Mead's milkweed (Asclepias meadii), a species listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act throughout its range across the Midwestern United States. We adapted a published population model based on demographic field data for application in pesticide risk assessment. Exposure and effects were modeled as reductions of sets of vital rates in the transition matrices, simulating both lethal and sublethal effects of herbicides. Two herbicides, atrazine and mesotrione, were used as case study examples to evaluate a range of assumptions about potential exposure–effects relationships. In addition, we assessed buffers (i.e., setback distances of herbicide spray applications from the simulated habitat) as hypothetical mitigation scenarios and evaluated their influence on population‐level effects in the model. The model results suggest that buffers can be effective at reducing risk from herbicide drift to plant populations. These case studies demonstrate that existing population models can be adopted and integrated with exposure and effects information for use in pesticide risk assessment. Environ Toxicol Chem 2018;37:2235–2245. © 2018 SETAC [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Economics has much to contribute to debates about the U.S. Endangered Species Act. We review recent developments in the economics of endangered species conservation since the late 1990s and identify areas in which there are opportunities for further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Endangered Species Act (ESA) is often portrayed as a major source of instability and crisis in river basins of the U. S. West, where the needs of listed fish species frequently clash with agriculture dependent on federal irrigation projects subject to ESA Section 7 prohibitions on federal agency actions likely to jeopardize listed species or adversely modify critical habitat. Scholarship on Section 7 characterizes the process as unwaveringly rigid, the legal "hammer" forcing federal agencies to consider endangered species' needs when proposing operations and management plans for federally funded irrigation. In this paper, we identify barriers to an integrated approach to Section 7 implementation and characterize a set of strategies for overcoming its rigidity that may have broader applicability. We draw on lessons derived from the Klamath Basin along the Oregon-California border, where cross-scale processes and venues involving interagency collaboration among leaders in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Marine Fisheries Service, and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation supported efforts to replace an ecologically and socially fragmented Upper Basin/Lower Basin approach to ESA implementation fraught with conflict. The result was the nation's first joint biological opinion (BiOp), which effectively institutionalized an adaptive, flexible, integrated approach to water sharing among competing interests. Keys to success included existing collaborative capacity related to shifting stakeholder networks, trust, and relationships and a shift in local agency culture facilitated by empathic leadership leading to a greater sense of shared responsibility for Section 7 compliance. A collaborative hydrologic modeling process enhanced participatory capacity, facilitated transformative social and technical learning, and cultivated greater understanding of the social-ecological system among key stakeholders. The 2013 joint BiOp exemplifies both governmental capacity for flexibility and evolution within the constraints of formal law and the potential for greater integration among federal agencies and between federal agencies and stakeholders involved in ESA implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Population models are used as tools in species management and conservation and are increasingly recognized as important tools in pesticide risk assessments. A wide variety of population model applications and resources on modeling techniques, evaluation and documentation can be found in the literature. In this paper, we add to these resources by introducing a systematic, transparent approach to developing population models. The decision guide that we propose is intended to help model developers systematically address data availability for their purpose and the steps that need to be taken in any model development. The resulting conceptual model includes the necessary complexity to address the model purpose on the basis of current understanding and available data. We provide specific guidance for the development of population models for herbaceous plant species in pesticide risk assessment and demonstrate the approach with an example of a conceptual model developed following the decision guide for herbicide risk assessment of Mead's milkweed ( Asclepias meadii ), a species listed as threatened under the US Endangered Species Act. The decision guide specific to herbaceous plants demonstrates the details, but the general approach can be adapted for other species groups and management objectives. Population models provide a tool to link population-level dynamics, species and habitat characteristics as well as information about stressors in a single approach. Developing such models in a systematic, transparent way will increase their applicability and credibility, reduce development efforts, and result in models that are readily available for use in species management and risk assessments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) determined that greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus; sage-grouse) did not warrant listing under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in 2015, the agency recognized a coordinated effort of private landowners, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and state and federal agencies that effectively reduced threats to the species. This effort exemplified an alternative model to species conservation that relies on voluntary conservation of private landowners to preclude government regulation. Through an in-depth case study of private landowner's voluntary sagegrouse conservation efforts in Lake County, Oregon, we explored features of these voluntary arrangements that motivate participating private landowners whose livelihoods depend on livestock production. Using in-depth, semi-structured interviews, we explored how private and public actors implemented sage-grouse conservation, landowner's production and conservation goals, and perceived foundations for participation. Qualitative analysis of interviews and documentation found that private landowner participation in voluntary arrangements was motivated by well-funded program offerings that were largely aligned with production goals and gave them a sense of control over their economic futures in the context of a potential ESA listing of sage-grouse. Subscription to these programs was largely facilitated by landowner and agency leadership operating as intermediaries. By aligning voluntary conservation offerings with economic and cultural contexts (e.g., using trusted intermediaries to deliver resources to landowners), voluntary arrangements may alleviate reliance on regulatory protections for species conservation where conservation and rural livelihoods intersect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thirteen years after the release of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service “Guidance for the establishment, use, and operation of conservation banks”, a draft “Endangered Species Act Compensatory Mitigation Policy” has been released. Understanding whether this draft Policy improves the existing Guidance and incorporates lessons learned requires a review of the practices of currently approved banks. We assess the practices that species conservation banks report, compare them with the 2003 Guidance and international biodiversity offset principles, and assess the degree to which the draft Policy advances conservation banking policy. Results show that banks have generally been well aligned to the recommendations of the 2003 Guidance, but fall significantly short when compared to the analyzed offset principles. Although the draft Policy significantly advances conservation banking policy, future policy updates that provide clear minimum standards on accounting methods, estimation of counterfactual scenarios and monitoring practices are still necessary, together with a greater transparency through reporting and the adoption of new methods and tools to meet the no net loss/net benefit goal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over half of the endangered species in the United States depend on private lands for habitat. In 1982, Congress amended the Endangered Species Act (ESA) to address the conservation of endangered species on private lands through the introduction of Habitat Conservation Plans (HCPs). HCPs enable landowners to comply with the ESA and can foster creative partnerships between the federal government and local stakeholders. Researchers have investigated the scientifically biological merits of HCPs, but comparatively little attention has been given to social aspects despite an emphasis on stakeholder involvement in HCPs. We explore stakeholder perceptions of HCP development through 19 semi-structured key informant interviews. Findings include the influence of interpersonal themes, shared understanding and capacity on process outcomes, and the importance of the external context in which HCP development occurs. Our research highlights the central role of understanding social dimensions to achieve the desired outcomes from collaborative conservation planning processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Endangered Species Act (ESA) faces a shortage of incentives to motivate the scale of conservation activities necessary to address and reverse the decline of at-risk species. A recent policy proposal attempts to change this by allowing landowners to generate credits for voluntary prelisting conservation activities. We explore the proposed policy from the perspective of potential participants. We find that uncertainty present in species listing processes complicates the decision to undertake conservation activities, leading to less conservation being supplied than when a listing decision is certain, while also delaying implementation until late in the listing determination process. Incentives created by the prelisting policy may likewise push species status closer to a listing threshold and thus exacerbate uncertainty in the listing process. To counter this tendency and encourage a more efficient allocation of conservation activity, early-actor bonuses, weighted credits, or limited windows of eligibility could be used to target or place increased premiums on early conservation activity. Though these findings are most directly applicable to the specific prelisting policy considered here, they are nonetheless relevant to a wider array of conservation policies that seek to encourage voluntary early action in advance of a regulatory alternative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper estimates the effect of Endangered Species Act protections for the lesser prairie chicken ( Tympanuchus pallidicinctus ) on rural property values in Oklahoma. The political and legal controversy surrounding the listing of imperiled species raises questions about the development restrictions and opportunity costs the Endangered Species Act imposes on private landowners. Examining parcel-level sales data before and after the listing of the endemic lesser prairie chicken, we employ difference-in-differences (DD) regression to measure the welfare costs of these restrictions. While our basic DD regression provides evidence the listing was associated with a drop in property values, this finding does not hold up in models that control for latent county and year effects. The lack of a significant price effect is confirmed by several robustness checks. Thus, the local economic costs of listing the lesser prairie chicken under the Endangered Species Act appear to have been small. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Like many federal statutes, the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA) contains vague or ambiguous language. The meaning imparted to the ESA's unclear language can profoundly impact the fates of endangered and threatened species. Hence, conservation scientists should contribute to the interpretation of the ESA when vague or ambiguous language contains scientific words or refers to scientific concepts. Scientists need to know at least these 2 facts about statutory interpretation: statutory interpretation is subjective and the potential influence of normative values results in different expectations for the parties involved. With the possible exception of judges, all conventional participants in statutory interpretation are serving their own interests, advocating for their preferred policies, or biased. Hence, scientists can play a unique role by informing the interpretative process with objective, policy-neutral information. Conversely, scientists may act as advocates for their preferred interpretation of unclear statutory language. The different roles scientists might play in statutory interpretation raise the issues of advocacy and competency. Advocating for a preferred statutory interpretation is legitimate political behavior by scientists, but statutory interpretation can be strongly influenced by normative values. Therefore, scientists must be careful not to commit stealth policy advocacy. Most conservation scientists lack demonstrable competence in statutory interpretation and therefore should consult or collaborate with lawyers when interpreting statutes. Professional scientific societies are widely perceived by the public as unbiased sources of objective information. Therefore, professional scientific societies should remain policy neutral and present all interpretations of unclear statutory language; explain the semantics and science both supporting and contradicting each interpretation; and describe the potential consequences of implementing each interpretation. A review of scientists' interpretations of the phrase 'significant portion of its range' in the ESA is used to critique the role of scientists and professional societies in statutory interpretation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The US Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA) affords many potential benefits to species threatened with extinction. However, most at-risk amphibians--one of the most imperiled vertebrate groups--remain unlisted under the provisions of the ESA, and many impediments to recovery exist for those species that have been listed. Of the 35 US amphibian species and distinct population segments ("taxa") listed under the ESA, 40% currently lack a final (completed) recovery plan, 28.6% lack designated critical habitat, and 8.6% lack both. For taxa that have recovery plans, the time between their listing and the development of those plans was from 2 to 29 years, and the time between their listing and the designation of critical habitat ranged from 0 to 14 years. The underlying causes of such delays in protection are complex and constitute obstacles to recovery of imperiled species. We outline a series of strategic actions by which these challenges may be overcome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although population models are recognized as necessary tools in the ecological risk assessment of pesticides, particularly for species listed under the Endangered Species Act, their application in this context is currently limited to very few cases. The authors developed a detailed, individual-based population model for a threatened plant species, the decurrent false aster ( Boltonia decurrens), for application in pesticide risk assessment. Floods and competition with other plant species are known factors that drive the species' population dynamics and were included in the model approach. The authors use the model to compare the population-level effects of 5 toxicity surrogates applied to B. decurrens under varying environmental conditions. The model results suggest that the environmental conditions under which herbicide applications occur may have a higher impact on populations than organism-level sensitivities to an herbicide within a realistic range. Indirect effects may be as important as the direct effects of herbicide applications by shifting competition strength if competing species have different sensitivities to the herbicide. The model approach provides a case study for population-level risk assessments of listed species. Population-level effects of herbicides can be assessed in a realistic and species-specific context, and uncertainties can be addressed explicitly. The authors discuss how their approach can inform the future development and application of modeling for population-level risk assessments of listed species, and ecological risk assessment in general. Environ Toxicol Chem 2017;36:480-491. © 2016 SETAC [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Canada and the United States are both committed to the protection of endangered species. This article examines how the legal frameworks created around the USEndangered Species Act(ESA) and the CanadianSpecies at Risk Act(SARA) intersect with Indigenous environmental justice (EJ). Specifically, the distribution of benefits and burdens is examined since critical habitat designations can limit activity on Native American and First Nation tribal lands. Legal documents and recent court cases also give insight into Indigenous inclusion and recognition in conservation approaches in North America. Overall, it is argued that Canada’s approach comes closer to EJ, but neither legal framework meets the criterion of genuine EJ for Native Americans and First Nations. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Problem, research strategy, and findings:Regional conservation initiatives struggle to meet funding needs when complying with the Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 1996 and need money early to pay for required planning and to acquire land to mitigate the impact of development. Transportation agencies struggle to comply with the ESA and have increasingly been willing to fund regional habitat conservation plans (RHCPs) to do so. We review documents from 22 RHCPs and interview representatives of 16 RHCPs to understand how transportation agencies have contributed to funding RHCPs. We find that transportation agencies mitigate their impacts and provide early and consistent financing to facilitate the planning process, help RHCPs establish initial conservation preserves, and allow RHCPs to capitalize on lower land prices during downturns in the development market. We only sample RHCPs in a few states, however, and these examples may not comply with laws in others. Many of the cases studied are recent; time is needed to assess their long-term success. We recommend further study to assess applications to sectors beyond transportation and beyond the areas we studied. Takeaway for practice:Transportation agencies have struggled to meet environmental requirements and habitat conservation agencies have typically considered transportation agencies threats to the environment. Where adversarial relationships can be overcome, partnerships between transportation and conservation programs can effectively finance habitat conservation while facilitating capital investments in transportation systems. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

United States legislation requires the US Environmental Protection Agency to ensure that pesticide use does not cause unreasonable adverse effects on the environment, including species listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA; hereafter referred to as listed species). Despite a long history of population models used in conservation biology and resource management and a 2013 report from the US National Research Council recommending their use, application of population models for pesticide risk assessments under the ESA has been minimal. The pertinent literature published from 2004 to 2014 was reviewed to explore the availability of population models and their frequency of use in listed species risk assessments. The models were categorized in terms of structure, taxonomic coverage, purpose, inputs and outputs, and whether the models included density dependence, stochasticity, or risk estimates, or were spatially explicit. Despite the widespread availability of models and an extensive literature documenting their use in other management contexts, only 2 of the approximately 400 studies reviewed used population models to assess the risks of pesticides to listed species. This result suggests that there is an untapped potential to adapt existing models for pesticide risk assessments under the ESA, but also that there are some challenges to do so for listed species. Key conclusions from the analysis are summarized, and priorities are recommended for future work to increase the usefulness of population models as tools for pesticide risk assessments. Environ Toxicol Chem 2016;35:1904-1913. © 2016 SETAC [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim Land use change is one major threat to freshwater biodiversity, and land use change scenarios can help to assess threats from future land use change, thereby guiding proactive conservation decisions. Our goal was to identify which range-restricted freshwater fish species are most likely to be affected by land use change and to determine where threats to these species from future land use change in the conterminous United States are most pronounced. Location United States of America. Methods We focused on range-restricted freshwater fish species, identified which of these species are considered threatened based on either the International Union for the Conservation of Nature ( IUCN)'s Red List or the Endangered Species Act ( ESA), and compared their distributions to patterns of future land use changes by 2051 under three scenarios. Results We found that 14% of the range-restricted species had >30% of their distribution area occupied by intensive land use in 2001, and this number increased from 27 to 58% by 2051 depending on the land use scenario. Among the 57 species most likely to be strongly affected by intensive land use, only 26% of these species are currently listed as threatened on the IUCN Red List, and 12% are listed as threatened under the ESA. Main conclusions Our approach demonstrates the value of considering future land use change scenarios in extinction risk assessment frameworks and offers guidelines for how this could be achieved for future assessments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The United States Congress passed the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in 1973, a law aimed at preventing the extinction of rare species. Since then, the ESA has become increasingly politicized in the U.S., adding to the difficulty of ESA implementation and endangered species management, while species continue to go extinct at alarming rates. The ESA is among the first statues to include a “best available science” mandate, requiring that agencies use the best scientific and commercial data to guide key decisions. Because the way in which agencies use science under the ESA is often the legal basis for litigation, it is timely and pertinent to evaluate the federal agencies' sources of information—and their uses of this information. The “best” available science and its use are each moving targets, difficult to define in the abstract. However, a straightforward way of evaluating these ideas is to compare the use of science by each of the two administrative agencies in charge of implementing the ESA, the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA). Here, we use bibliographic data, litigation records, authorship affiliation, and related data to ask whether the two agencies' use of scientific information differs systematically. Overall, we find that NOAA draws more deeply from the scientific literature and is somewhat better buffered from changes in political administration than is FWS. These results suggest NOAA's implementation is more closely aligned with commonly held ideas of good scientific practice than that of FWS, although in some cases these differences could also result from the different amounts of available information on the species each agency manages. We then interpret these findings in the context of each agency's budget, structure, and history and highlight specific policy mechanisms that would allow the agencies to improve endangered species management, and reduce their own exposure to litigation, by improving their use of high-quality scientific information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a hunted species becomes increasingly rare, the effort required to locate and harvest an individual tends to increase. As rarity increases, governmental oversight, including changes in hunting regulations and protection of habitats and individuals using mechanisms such as the US Endangered Species Act ( ESA), can be used to mitigate extinction risks. However, recent research has demonstrated the existence of a feedback mechanism through which increased rarity may increase hunter demand for opportunities to pursue rare species before the opportunity is lost. This phenomenon, referred to as the anthropogenic Allee effect, may exacerbate exploitation, thereby resulting in disproportionally large effects of harvest on vulnerable species. In 2010, the US Fish and Wildlife Service designated greater sage-grouse ( C entrocercus urophasianus; sage-grouse) as a candidate for listing under the ESA. Although sage-grouse are a candidate for ESA listing, they are still hunted throughout much of their current range. In 2008, the demand for sage-grouse hunting permits in Utah exceeded their availability, raising questions about why hunters choose to pursue this species. We hypothesized that the pending ESA listing decision increased hunter demand for permits. We surveyed randomly selected hunters who obtained permits to hunt sage-grouse in Utah in 2008-2010 ( n = 838) to determine their motivations for hunting sage-grouse and determinants of hunter satisfaction. The most commonly reported reasons for hunting sage-grouse were to spend time with family, for tradition and meat. Although the potential ESA listing was not a major motivational factor in 2009 or 2010, the percentage of respondents selecting this option did increase by 7%. Hunter awareness of the ESA listing petition also increased by 18% during this period. Our results provide new insights on the sociological importance and potential threats of hunting rare species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At the beginning of the 20th century, three intertwined ambitions drove federal legislation over wildlife and biodiversity: establishment of multiple-use federal lands, the economic development of natural resources, and the maintenance of option values. We examine this federal intervention in natural resource use by analyzing roll call votes over the past century with a Random Utility Model (Manski, 1977) and conclude that economics mattered. So did ideology, but not uniformly. After World War II, the pro-environment vote which had been conservative shifted to being liberal. All these votes involved decisions regarding public land that reallocated the returns to users by changing the asset's physical character or its usage rights. We suggest that long-term consequences affecting current resource allocations arose from disparities between broadly dispersed benefits and locally concentrated socioeconomic and geophysical (spatial) costs. We show that a primary intent of public land management has become to preserve multiple-use option values and identify important factors in computing those option values. We do this by demonstrating how the willingness to forego current benefits for future ones depends on the community's resource endowments. These endowments are defined not only in terms of users' current wealth accumulation but also from their expected ability to extract utility from natural resources over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Separating myth and reality is essential for evaluating the effectiveness of laws. Section 7 of the US Endangered Species Act (Act) directs federal agencies to help conserve threatened and endangered species, including by consulting with the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) or National Marine Fisheries Service on actions the agencies authorize, fund, or carry out. Consultations ensure that actions do not violate the Act's prohibitions on "jeopardizing" listed species or "destroying or adversely modifying" these species' critical habitat. Because these prohibitions are broad, many people consider section 7 the primary tool for protecting species under the Act, whereas others believe section 7 severely impedes economic development. This decades-old controversy is driven primarily by the lack of data on implementation: past analyses are either over 25 y old or taxonomically restricted. We analyze data on all 88,290 consultations recorded by FWS from January 2008 through April 2015. In contrast to conventional wisdom about section 7 implementation, no project was stopped or extensively altered as a result of FWS finding jeopardy or adverse modification during this period. We also show that median consultation duration is far lower than the maximum allowed by the Act, and several factors drive variation in consultation duration. The results discreditmany of the claims about the onerous nature of section 7 but also raise questions as to how federal agencies could apply this tool more effectively to conserve species. We build on the results to identify ways to improve the effectiveness of consultations for imperiled species conservation and increase the efficiency of consultations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The United States Endangered Species Act (ESA) was enacted to protect and restore declining fish, wildlife, and plant populations. The ESA mandates endangered species protection irrespective of costs. This translates to the restriction of activities that harm endangered populations. We discuss criticisms of the ESA in the context of public land management and examine under what circumstance banning non-conservation activity on multiple use federal lands can be socially optimal. We develop a bioeconomic model to frame the species management problem under the ESA and identify scenarios where ESA-imposed regulations emerge as optimal strategies. Results suggest that banning harmful activities is a preferred strategy when valued endangered species are in decline or exposed to poor habitat quality. However, it is not optimal to sustain such a strategy in perpetuity. An optimal plan involves a switch to land-use practices characteristic of habitat conservation plans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapid change in wildlife populations can challenge managers to promote species conservation while maintaining public support for wildlife. Wolf management during recolonization in Wisconsin, United States demonstrates the complexities of inconsistent management authority, public attitudes, and illegal killing of wolves. State management authority to control depredating wolves oscillated during a period of intense sociopolitical conflict over wolf status under the federal Endangered Species Act. We demonstrate that swings in wolf status led to inconsistent management authority, declining local public support for wolves, and possibly the unintended backlash of more illegal kills and a legislatively mandated public wolf hunt. A new Wildlife Management Matrix illustrates an idealized relationship between lethal control options and perceptions of wildlife. Moderating the sociopolitical drivers of swings in policy over short periods is essential to allow wildlife managers greater flexibility in achieving species-specific goals. To our knowledge, this research provides the first demonstrated link between illegal wildlife killing and management authority under the Endangered Species Act, and suggests that illegal behavior may be moderated with responsible and effective wildlife management programs. We recommend states avoid prescriptive harvest legislation, and we suggest a more incremental shift from federal to state management authority. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are currently two major federal frameworks through which fungi are directly protected in the United States: the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and the Survey and Manage Standards and Guidelines of the Northwest Forest Plan (SMNFP). While both of these provide protection to fungi, the former is legally ambiguous with regard to fungi and the latter is currently the subject of litigation that may render it less effective. Though two lichens are listed as endangered under the ESA, the Act does not explicitly provide protections to fungi, leaving the legal status of these listed species unclear. The SMNFP implements comprehensive adaptive management for many lichenized and non-lichenized fungi, as well as other poorly studied organisms (e.g. bryophytes). In recent years, however, the SMNFP has been impeded by ongoing conflicts between federal agencies, logging interests, and environmental activists. Given the importance of fungi to the biosphere and the increasing interest in fungal conservation worldwide, addressing oversights and obstacles such as these is a crucial step towards effective protection and management of fungi. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Piping plovers (Charadrius melodus,) are shorebirds federally protected by the U.S. Endangered Species Act that often nest on beaches in proximity to human recreation. We evaluated whether awareness of piping plovers and their legally protected status and attitudes toward species management varied between groups of recreationists at Lake McConaughy, Keith County, Nebraska, USA. Awareness of piping plovers varied primarily by the respondents' number of annual visits to Lake McConaughy; the respondents' age, sex, or location of primary residence had less influence. Recreationists with increased awareness of piping plovers and their protected status did not have more favorable attitudes toward plovers and recreation restrictions. The more frequently recreationists visited Lake McConaughy, the less receptive they were to alternative management strategies. Piping plover recovery plans should incorporate general and site-specific human dimensions guidance for conservation practitioners. Additional studies are needed to identify approaches to resolve bird-human conflicts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many species listed under the US Endangered Species Act (ESA) face continuing threats and will require intervention to address those threats for decades. These species, which have been termed conservation-reliant, pose a challenge to the ESA's mandate for recovery of self-sustaining populations. Most references to conservation-reliant species by federal agencies involve the restoration of population connectivity. However, the diverse threats to connectivity faced by different species have contrasting implications in the context of the ESA's mandate. For species facing long-term threats from invasive species or climate change, restoration of natural dispersal may not be technically feasible in the foreseeable future. For other species, restoration of natural dispersal is feasible, but carries economic and political cost. Federal agencies have used a broad definition of conservation reliance to justify delisting of species in the latter group even if they remain dependent on artificial translocation. Distinguishing the two groups better informs policy by distinguishing the technical challenges posed by novel ecological stressors from normative questions such as the price society is willing to pay to protect biodiversity, and the degree to which we should grow accustomed to direct human intervention in species' life cycles as a component of conservation in the Anthropocene Epoch. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Collaborative watershed management incorporates a number of recent innovations in natural resource management, from ecosystem-based management to adaptive co-management of social-ecological systems. Facing jurisdictional barriers to compliance with landmark federal environmental laws, state governments in the Pacific region embraced collaborative watershed management to simultaneously address diffused water pollution and habitat loss on private land. Collaborative watershed management functions by leveraging local social capital through monetary and nonmonetary incentives, enabling the application of common property regimes to multi-owner landscapes. Here, I describe the historical development of state watershed management frameworks in the Pacific region of the United States. Results indicate that federal financial incentives enabled states to establish unique watershed management frameworks to improve compliance with federal environmental law. I suggest that nested localized institutional design is an effective method of implementing adaptive co-management across socially and ecologically diverse landscapes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of conservation-reliant species has become increasingly prominent, particularly with species listed or under consideration for listing under the US Endangered Species Act (ESA). We have concerns about the trend toward what we see as an overly broad definition of conservation reliance. In addition to being of limited practical utility, overuse of the conservation reliant label can mask important legal and policy issues associated with species recovery and delisting. We propose a biology-based definition of conservation-reliant species—specifically, one based on the degree to which a species needs direct and ongoing human manipulation of its life cycle or environment in order to persist in the wild. This definition could assist managers in developing recovery priorities and allocating scarce recovery funds. In addition, a biological definition of conservation reliance could assist society and policymakers in considering whether the ESA's focus on self-sufficiency in the wild remains relevant as a definition of conservation success. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The designation of critical habitat is a feature of endangered species protection laws in many countries. Under the U.S. Endangered Species Act, economics cannot enter into decisions to list species as threatened or endangered, but can be considered when critical habitat is designated. Areas can be excluded from proposed critical habitat if the economic cost of including them is determined to exceed the benefits of inclusion, and exclusion would not result in extinction of the species. The economic analysis done to support critical habitat exclusions has been controversial, and the focus of much litigation. We evaluate a sample of these analyses, and discuss the exclusions that were made in each case. We discuss how the methodology used to measure economic costs of critical habitat has changed over time and provide a critique of these alternative methods. We find that the approach currently in use is sound from an economic perspective. Nevertheless, quantification of the costs of critical habitat faces numerous challenges, including great uncertainty about future events, questions about the appropriate scale for the analysis, and the need to account for complex market feedbacks and values of non-market goods. For the studies we reviewed, there was no evidence that the results of the economic analyses provided information that was useful for making decisions about exemptions from critical habitat designations. If economics is to play a meaningful role in determining endangered species protections, an alternative would be to allow listing decisions to be based on economic as well as biological factors, as is typical for species conservation laws in other countries. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

For species listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service are tasked with writing recovery plans that include 'objective, measurable criteria' that define when a species is no longer at risk of extinction, but neither the act itself nor agency guidelines provide an explicit definition of objective, measurable criteria. Past reviews of recovery plans, including one published in 2012, show that many criteria lack quantitative metrics with clear biological rationale and are not meeting the measureable and objective mandate. I reviewed how objective, measureable criteria have been defined implicitly and explicitly in peer-reviewed literature, the ESA, other U.S. statutes, and legal decisions. Based on a synthesis of these sources, I propose the following 6 standards be used as minimum requirements for objective, measurable criteria: contain a quantitative threshold with calculable units, stipulate a timeframe over which they must be met, explicitly define the spatial extent or population to which they apply, specify a sampling procedure that includes sample size, specify a statistical significance level, and include justification by providing scientific evidence that the criteria define a species whose extinction risk has been reduced to the desired level. To meet these 6 standards, I suggest that recovery plans be explicitly guided by and organized around a population viability modeling framework even if data or agency resources are too limited to complete a viability model. When data and resources are available, recovery criteria can be developed from the population viability model results, but when data and resources are insufficient for model implementation, extinction risk thresholds can be used as criteria. A recovery-planning approach centered on viability modeling will also yield appropriately focused data-acquisition and monitoring plans and will facilitate a seamless transition from recovery planning to delisting. Un Marco de Referencia para Desarrollar Criterios de Recuperación Objetivos y Medibles para Especies Amenazadas y en Peligro [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Mojave desert tortoise was listed as threatened under the US Endangered Species Act (ESA) because of local population declines and an array of threats. Challenges to the recovery of this species include an incomplete understanding of the threats most responsible for its decline, insufficient information on the effectiveness of management actions, and the intractability of threats across a large geographical range and multiple jurisdictions. Recognition that these challenges require long-term conservation efforts to ensure the species' persistence -- with or without the protections of the ESA -- necessitates a more structured approach to recovery, including broad stakeholder participation. A conservationreliant perspective will probably be increasingly relevant for additional species and for adapting land management in the face of climate change by improving regional coordination of management activities, broadening spatial and temporal points of view in management, and increasing the emphasis on addressing multiple threats simultaneously. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nearly 40 years after passage of the US Endangered Species Act, the prospects for listed species remain dim because they are too severely imperiled by the time they receive the act's protection. Even if threats are abated, the low abundances required for recovery often preclude a high probability of persistence. The lack of sufficient data for setting recovery objectives also remains a barrier. Delisting is considered possible for only 74% of the 1173 species with recovery plans-92% of threatened and 69% of endangered species. The median number of populations required for delisting (8) was at or below the historical numbers for 64% and at or below the numbers at listing for 37% of the species. The median number of individuals required for recovery (2400) exceeded the abundances at listing for 93% of the species, but most were below the levels considered necessary for long-term persistence, especially in changing environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Eulachon ( Thaleichthys pacificus), an anadromous smelt in the Northeast Pacific Ocean was examined for listing under the USA's Endangered Species Act (ESA). A southern Distinct Population Segment (DPS) of eulachon - that occurs in the California Current and is composed of numerous subpopulations that spawn in rivers from northern California to northern British Columbia - was identified on the basis of ecological and environmental characteristics, and to a lesser extent, genetic and life history variation. Although the northern terrestrial boundary of this DPS remains uncertain, our consensus opinion was that this northern boundary occurs south of the Nass River and that the DPS was discrete from more northern eulachon, as well as significant to the biological species as a whole and thus is a 'species' under the ESA. Eulachon have been nearly absent in northern California for over two decades, have declined in the Fraser River by over 97% in the past 10 years, and are at historically low levels in other British Columbia rivers in the DPS, and nearly so in the Columbia River. Major threats to southern eulachon include climate change impacts on ocean and freshwater habitat, by-catch in offshore shrimp trawl fisheries, changes in downstream flow timing and intensity owing to dams and water diversions, and predation. These threats, together with large declines in abundance, indicate that the southern DPS of eulachon is at moderate risk of extinction throughout all of its range. The southern DPS was listed as threatened under the ESA in May 2010 - the first marine forage fish to be afforded these statutory protections, which apply only to waters under U.S. jurisdiction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herpetologists often complain that, despite amphibians' being one of the most threatened vertebrate classes, there is a dearth of funding and capacity to tackle the global crisis afflicting them. We compared the average funding per species listed under the US Endangered Species Act (ESA) to quantify funding favoritism across vertebrate classes in the United States and compared ESA listings with NatureServe evaluations of endangerment in order to examine listing bias. We found that, on average, listed US amphibians receive one-quarter of the ESA funding that other vertebrate classes do. This inequality is compounded by listing bias, with 82% of the amphibians found to be at risk by NatureServe remaining unlisted under the ESA. We recommend that federal, state, and private conservation groups take reactive and proactive measures to build capacity to sustain this important class of vertebrates for future generations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conservation scientists increasingly recognize the need to incorporate the social sciences into policy decisions. In practice, however, considerable challenges to integrating the social and natural sciences remain. In this article, we review the US Fish and Wildlife Service's (FWS) 2009 decision to remove the northern Rocky Mountain population of gray wolves from the federal list of endangered species. We examine the FWS's arguments concerning the threat posed by humans' attitudes toward wolves in light of the existing social science literature. Our analysis found support for only one of four arguments underlying the FWS's assessment of public attitudes as a potential threat to wolves. Although we found an extensive literature on attitudes toward wolves, the FWS cited just one empirical research article. We conclude that when listing decisions rest on assumptions about society, these assumptions should be evaluated using the best available natural and social science research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated the endangered status and taxonomic status of the freshwater crayfish Procambarus ferrugineus, a crayfish species considered for the candidate list of the Endangered Species Act. This species has a narrow distribution from central Arkansas, USA and is codistributed with its presumed sister species, Procambarus liberorum. We sampled extensively throughout the ranges of both primary burrowing species and collected mitochondrial DNA from a hypervariable fragment of the 16S gene from 109 individuals across 22 sites. We also collected data from a variable region of the 12S gene from a subset of the resulting 16S haplotypes. Due to our inability to sample what we considered P. ferrugineus in the field, we included museum specimens from the United States Natural History Museum of both P. ferrugineus and P. liberorum. Analyses of the resulting data suggested that these two species are indeed the same and we therefore synonymize them under the name of priority—P. liberorum. Additionally, our sampling discovered three new cryptic species from southwestern Arkansas all from the genus Procambarus. Nested clade phylogeographic analysis coupled with population genetic analyses suggested that P. liberorum has had three rounds of range expansion throughout the inferred evolutionary history. Using IUCN Red List criteria for conservation assessment, we conclude that the species P. liberorum should be considered stable, but with special concern because of habitat fragmentation and urbanization, small restricted range, and a moderate level of genetic diversity. Procambarus reimeri should be considered endangered due to its limited geographic range and the potential for a decline in suitable habitat. The three potentially newly discovered species should be considered data deficient until more information is obtained on their distributional limits and habitat requirements. Our study highlights the importance of thorough geographic and taxonomic sampling coupled with the utility of collecting data from museum specimens to reach robust taxonomic and conservation conclusions for endangered species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To assess whether imperiled species are covered by existing protections in the biologically-rich state of Nevada, U.S.A., we compared the distribution of reserves with known imperiled species occurrences. For species poorly represented in reserves, we determined whether they were receiving alternate protection under the U.S. Endangered Species Act or voluntary conservation plans. A majority (212, 55%) of Nevada's 384 imperiled species had fewer than 25% of occurrences in reserves and most (282, 68%) had fewer than 50% of occurrences in reserves. Of imperiled species with less than 25% or fewer than two occurrences in reserves, only 9% are currently receiving alternate protection from the Endangered Species Act or voluntary plans. These results suggest that providing protection for imperiled species in Nevada will require both an expansion of the existing reserve system, which currently covers 14% of the state, and protection of more species under the Endangered Species Act or other programs. By dividing Nevada into equal-sized hexagons and scoring each of these hexagons based on a rarity-weighted richness index of imperiled species occurrences, we identified 19 imperiled species hot spots in Nevada. No imperiled species occurrences were protected in seven (37%) and less than half were protected in 11 (58%) of these hot spots. Protecting these areas could provide important additional protection for imperiled species in Nevada. Evaluations of protective measures for biological diversity should include the full suite of protections, including both reserves and laws and regulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article evaluates the monitoring efforts in endangered species recovery plans in the U.S. It describes the role of monitoring in recovery plans for various species listed as threatened and endangered under the Endangered Species Act. It warns against an overemphasis on focal species monitoring in recovery plans.

The article presents a study to evaluate the impacts on recovery progress of the people and property involved in recovery plan development and implementation. It examines the jurisdiction over the habitat of endangered species in the U.S. Results of the study recommend that species on federal lands may benefit from less division of labor among jurisdictional agencies in the nation.

The article focuses on the endangered species recovery plans in the U.S. It discusses the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's (USFWS) improvement of the application of science in recovery plans. It examines the role of the Endangered Species Act in the recovery plans for endangered species. It emphasizes the concern of the FWS with the need to monitor changes in endangered species populations and their habitats.

The article shares a perspective on the endangered species recovery planning process and the Society for Conservation Biology (SCB) recovery planning study. The authors believe that clearly written, well-designed recovery plans can play a key role in organizing and focusing the recovery effort as part of the continuum from listing the endangered and threatened species.

The article focuses on the scope and treatment of threats in endangered species recovery plans in the U.S. It investigates the nature and the treatment of threats in recovery plans for 181 threatened and endangered species. It analyzes the types of threats facing species and results suggest that a lack of basic understanding of the nature of the threats may be undermining the recovery efforts.

The article evaluates the wildlife recovery criteria under the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA). It discusses the amendment of ESA to require that recovery plans include objective criteria for delisting. It describes the temporal trends in the use of recovery criteria, patterns of use for different categories of recovery criteria, and the relationship between categories of recovery criteria and population status.

The article focuses on the revisions to the recovery plans for threatened and endangered species in the U.S. It states that the revisions allow the recovery planning process to be flexible and responsive to information or changes in the status of a species. It calls on the Fish and Wildlife Service to establish a consistent priority system for revisions to the recovery plans that affords consideration to listed wildlife species.

The article focuses on a collaborative project sponsored by the Society for Conservation Biology, in partnership with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis. It discusses the goals of the project, which reviews a large representative sample of recovery plans for threatened and endangered species.