ABSTRACT
This book explores the critical role that states can and should play in protecting the nation’s vast wealth of biodiversity. Most books and articles on biodiversity protection in the United States have focused on the role of the national government and the national Endangered Species Act (ESA). The steps that states have taken to protect jeopardized species, and the potential contributions that states could play in the future, have received surprisingly little attention. This myopia reflects in part the attention-grabbing headlines that the ESA has received since the snail darter stopped construction of the Tellico Dam in the 1970s. But the myopia ignores the crucial importance of the 50 states plus territories in ensuring the survival of the nation’s imperiled species.
