In just the past two months, the Bush administration, acting through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, has twice side-stepped its responsibility to protect and recover species by essentially ceding conservation of a U.S. species to Canada or Mexico.
The Bush administration has refused to protect wolverines and jaguars under the Endangered Species Act even with undisputed scientific evidence that federal protections are needed due to both species’ precarious status in the United States. The Bush administration instead decided that populations of these two species in the United States are not important enough to warrant protection, leaving their fate to Canadian or Mexican wildlife authorities.
More than 30 years ago, Congress passed the ESA to protect and preserve imperiled wildlife populations within our borders as well as abroad. Wolverines and jaguars may both have larger populations in Canada and Mexico, but that does not relieve the United States of its responsibility under the ESA to conserve the wildlife that lives within our borders.
This is not the first time the Bush administration has passed off responsibilities to our border neighbors. Over the past seven years, the administration has refused to protect species such as the wolverine, jaguar, pygmy owl and marbled murrelet on the grounds that populations of those species in the United States are not important to the recovery of the species as a whole.
This is a new low for the Bush administration. Animals do not recognize man-made boundaries. They do not know or care whether they are in the United States, Mexico or Canada; but they do need strong conservation measures if they are to survive and thrive for future generations of Americans.
Wolverines, jaguars and the hundreds of other species that live along our borders are as American as the bald eagle. All species that we share with other countries are important and treasured elements of the American wildlife landscape, including bald eagles, gray wolves, grizzly bears and sea turtles – none of which would have been protected under the Bush administration’s myopic view of conservation.
Naturalist Aldo Leopold once wrote about grizzly bears: ”Relegating grizzlies to Alaska is about like relegating happiness to heaven; one may never get there.” The same sentiment is true for conserving imperiled species along the border. It is irresponsible of the Bush administration to give up on imperiled species just because those species have a foothold in other countries. To do so would mean giving up some of the most amazing species in our country and depriving future generations of Americans of the uniquely diverse American wildlife landscape.
Defenders of Wildlife is considering various options to address FWS’ recent decision regarding the status of the wolverine under the ESA. Defenders has recently filed a notice of intent to sue in federal district court to compel the Bush administration to create a recovery plan for jaguars in the Southwest.
– Jamie Rappaport Clark,
executive vice president, Defenders of Wildlifeformer director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
