Endangered Species
Endangered Species
Protecting imperiled species and recovering habitat is part of the foundational work that Sierra Club was built around. In fact, today there are more gray wolves, wild bison, and California condors than there were a generation ago thanks to Sierra Club members and supporters.
What is the Endangered Species Act?
The Endangered Species Act is one of the most important and effective conservation laws in history. The bipartisan bill passed Congress with almost unanimous support on December 28, 1973, preventing the extinction of roughly 291 species since its passage. Today, more than 90% of the public supports the Act.
The Endangered Species Act has helped save 99% of species listed for protection from extinction, including the humpback whale, grizzly bear, and bald eagle. Because of its success, gray whales still swim our coasts, peregrine falcons still soar our skies, and polar bears still roam the Arctic tundra. The Act is currently helping protect more than 2,000 species of plants and animals that are threatened or endangered.
The Endangered Species Act is considered one of the greatest success stories of the environmental movement and serves as a model for conservation efforts around the world.
41%
40%
animals in the US risk extinction
The Endangered Species Act is critical To protect species
Since being signed into law in 1973, the Endangered Species Act has saved 99% of the species under its protection from extinction, including the bald eagle, humpback whale, California condor, and many others.
Victory!
Conservationists, tribes say deal with Biden administration is a road map to breach Snake River dams
The Biden Administration recently announced an agreement with the Six Sovereigns (Nez Perce, Yakama, Umatilla and Warm Springs Tribes, along with the states of Washington and Oregon) that would invest more than $1 billion in salmon recovery and restore native fish populations.
What We Are Doing
Sierra Club is working hard to pressure Congress and the White House to undertake bold new policies to save endangered species, restore keystone species to historic habitats, and protect and connect important habitats so that imperiled wildlife can thrive in the face of climate change and other human-caused threats.
We leverage our grassroots power to protect regional species like Florida panthers and grizzly bears in the Northern Rockies. We are working with our Indigenous partners to ensure that Native communities have the resources available to them to manage wildlife on their lands and to restore culturally important species like bison and salmon. In recent years, we have also worked to educate policymakers and the public on how the extinction and climate crises, and the solutions to these crises, are interconnected.
What You Can Do
Tell the President to Strengthen Species Protections
Fifty years ago, Congress passed the bipartisan Endangered Species Act (ESA) and President Nixon signed it into law. Since it came into force, 99% of the species under its protection have been saved from extinction, making it one of the greatest conservation laws in our nation's history. Urge the President to ensure that we have even stronger biodiversity and endangered species protections for the next 50 years.
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