Endangered Species Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, today I wish to submit for the Record a column written by Mr. Dennis Sun, a Wyoming journalist and rancher, entitled ``The Act is Broken.'' The article was published in the Wyoming Livestock Roundup on August 29, 2018.

Since its passage in 1973, the Endangered Species Act has contributed to the recovery of iconic species like the bald eagle. It has been an important conservation tool, but it is in need of an update.

Wyoming has invested more than $50 million for the recovery of the grizzly bear alone. Twice in the last decade, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has found that the grizzly bear met all recovery targets and no longer should be protected as ``threatened'' under the Endangered Species Act. Courts have twice overturned the delisting decisions and, in so doing, undermined the expert opinion of wildlife biologists who set, approved, and met recovery goals.

Mr. Sun's article highlights the case of the grizzly bear as a prime example for why my efforts to give states more opportunities to engage in conservation under the act have merit. The successful recovery of the grizzly bear took decades, but I am hopeful we will be able to improve the act and improve conservation much faster.

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