Researcher(s):
Taylor Riso
ENVS course(s): 400 Initiated: August 2011 Completed: May 2012 Go to project site
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Although Congress passed the Endangered Species Act in 1973, few endangered and threatened species have recovered. Scott et al. (2005, 2010) propose that the lack of delistings is a result of the prevalence of conservation-reliant species. This term describes species which due to the constant nature of the threats against them require management in perpetuity even following an attainment of their recovery criteria. In addition, Scott et al. (2005) propose Recovery Management Agreements (RMAs) to manage conservation-reliant species following delisting which would radically transform conservation management. The Northern spotted owl is known as one of the most controversial cases of species conservation. When logging was curtailed in the 1990s, politicians, bureaucrats, and biologists believed the species would easily recover. However, new and persistent threats to the species’ viability, including the barred owl and climate change, transpired and thus, the Northern spotted owl is a conservation-reliant species. I conducted a legal document analysis to deem whether statutes provide a legal foundation for establishing the RMA approach as well as informational and interpretive interviews with key experts to unearth their perspectives on this new management strategy. Even though policies such as the Revised Recovery Plan for the Northern Spotted Owl (2011) as well as specific statutes of the ESA provide the legal means to manage the conservation-reliant Northern spotted owl under an RMA strategy, the conservation community is unwilling to embrace the rise of conservation-reliant species. The reluctance of the conservation community illustrates the prevalence of old guard environmentalism which is unable to adapt as conservation dilemmas evolve, posing a significant threat to resolving environmental problems.