Last month, the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Fisheries, Water, and Wildlife, chaired by Sen. Pete Ricketts (R-NE), held a hearing on the Endangered Species Act (ESA).
Specifically, they took a deep dive into the challenges and possible improvements into the implementation of the ESA. This follows the passage of Rep. Bruce Westerman’s (R-AR) H.R. 1897, a bill that reauthorizes the ESA with key landowner protection amendments recommended by American Stewards.
This clearly is a signal that both the House and Senate are serious about reforming the ESA, something that hasn’t happened in decades.
Chairman Ricketts opened with criticizing the lack of success of the ESA’s recovery of endangered species saying: “The ultimate goal of the law is to recover species to the point that federal protections are no longer needed. Yet the available data suggests the current framework is not consistently achieving that outcome. “…after more than 50 years, the actual recovery metrics for species raises concerns about whether the law is achieving its goal.”
“Since the ESA was enacted, 57 of the more than 1,700 listed species have been delisted. That means roughly three percent of the species ever listed as endangered or threatened have recovered.” The agency projected 300 species would be recovered by now, but only 57 have. But, in reality half of those 57 were delisted because of insufficient data.
That clearly indicates the ESA is flawed and not performing. In fact, it’s become a tool used by environmentalists and the USFWS to control private property and punish landowners.
“Ultimately, the ESA has not consistently achieved its intended goal of recovering species and removing them from federal protection. And Congress needs to be at the forefront of these discussions and improve the law that has created more regulatory uncertainty than tangible success,” Chairman Ricketts added.
The House Committee on Natural Resources approved H.R. 1897 on March 24, 2026, and awaits approval by the full House of Representatives. Should the House approve Westerman’s bill, it will be referred to the Senate, but the Senate could pass its own ESA reform bill and the two would have to be reconciled.
But for the first time in many years, there is a possibility of real ESA reform, something American Stewards has promoted and worked hard on for the past 30 years.
