Ahead of the 50th anniversary of the Endangered Species Act this December, The Property and Environment Research Center (PERC) has released a report exploring ideas to improve conservation outcomes under the act. Since its inception five decades ago, the act has been successful in preventing extinction for most listed species. However, only a small number have recovered enough to be removed from the list.

The new report titled "A Field Guide for Wildlife Recovery: The Endangered Species Act’s Elusive Search to Recover Species—and What to Do About It" proposes specific improvements aimed at encouraging wildlife recovery over the next fifty years. PERC CEO Brian Yablonski noted, "The Endangered Species Act has saved countless species from extinction while causing friction with a sizable faction of landowners."

Yablonski emphasized that two-thirds of endangered species are found on private land, making it crucial for conservation laws to incentivize private efforts in habitat restoration. The report suggests ten ideas for enhancing species recovery, focusing on both regulatory adjustments and rewarding proactive conservation efforts.

Timothy Male, Executive Director at the Environmental Policy Innovation Center, praised PERC's approach: "This report is a great field guide to more than two dozen policy ideas that deserve a more rational and less fanatical debate." Steven Williams, former U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director, remarked on the importance of motivating species recovery beyond merely preventing extinction.

Lowell E. Baier highlighted the need for cooperation among states, private landowners, and other partners to effectively restore ecosystems and conserve biodiversity.

For further details on these proposals, readers can access the full report at perc.org/recoveryguide.