The Fate of Imperiled Species: Lessons from 50 Years of the US Endangered Species Act

Looking back on the Endangered Species Act (ESA) after 50-plus years of implementation reveals a substantial influence on conservation science. The ESA catalyzed science to support listing decisions, species status assessments, a shared understanding of species’ habitats and ranges, threat assessment and recovery planning. However, rising threats to species and limited resources to support recovery have resulted in increasing numbers of imperiled species. Prioritizing investment in biodiversity management requires more interdisciplinary approaches. Emerging research is shifting from objective solution seeking to supporting complex listing decisions based on increasingly complex genetic data to nontraditional management measures like assisted migration. Conservation science has evolved to focus on scales beyond a single species, leading to both new challenges and opportunities in how the ESA can support ecosystem and landscape-scale conservation. The importance of increasingly inclusive management also presents challenges and opportunities for more integrative research to support ESA decision-making.