New regulations put in place to assist the Endangered Species Act

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service have created new initiatives they hope will promote increased effectiveness for the Endangered Species Act (ESA), according to an announcement released Monday.

The changes, which would come as new rules and regulations rather than legislative amendments, hope to build on the Obama administration’s success with new implementation techniques. They are aimed at engaging the states, using the best scientific data available, increasing transparency in the services’ scientific processes, incentivizing conservation volunteerism and making resources work more efficiently.

“The proposed policies would result in a more nimble, transparent and ultimately more effective Endangered Species Act,” Director of the Fish and Wildlife Service Dan Ashe said. “By improving and streamlining our processes, we are ensuring the limited resources of state and federal agencies are best spent actually protecting and restoring imperiled species.”

The Obama administration has been very effective in its actions on the ESA, delisting many endangered species after rehabilitation and keeping many others from ever being put on the list through preventative measures.

“The protection and restoration of America’s proud natural heritage would not be possible without the Endangered Species Act and the close collaboration among states, landowners and federal agencies that the act promotes,” Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell said. “These actions will make an effective and robust law even more successful, and will also reinforce the importance of states, landowners and sound science in that effort.”