Protecting Endangered Species

The Endangered Species Act is credited by its supporters with helping to protect hundreds of rare plant and animal species from possible extinction. But critics say the 1973 law has not met its goals. Moreover, they charge it has infringed on property rights, stymied development and forced the elimination of thousands of jobs. The Clinton administration has been changing policies to try to make the law work better and reduce its impact on private landowners. Some House Republicans want to go further and free private landowners from most of its restrictions, but that legislation has stalled. Now environmentalists are pointing to major habitat protection plans in Texas and Southern California as proof that biological diversity and economic development need not be in conflict.