Descriptif

Economic Analysis of the US Endangered Species Program The Endangered Species Act (ESA) was signed on December 28, 1973 and provides for the conservation of species that are endangered or threatened throughout all or a significant portion of its range, and the conservation of the ecosystems on which they depend. The ESA replaced the Endangered Species Conservation Act of 1969; it has been amended several times. A “species” is considered endangered if it is in danger of extinction (throughout all or a significant portion of its range) and threatened if it is likely to become an endangered species within the foreseeable future. For each listed species the government is required to develop and fund a preservation plan that includes habitat restoration, species status surveys, public education and outreach, captive propagation and reintroduction, nesting surveys, genetic studies and development of management plans. The purpose of this project is to analyze the allocation of funding across species and the success of this spending in terms of resulting in a delisting of the species. The tasks involved will entail background research on the ESA and its individual aspects in general and for specific species, gathering data on spending and listing/delisting of species. These data will be then be combined to statistically estimate the determinants of listing and the success of funding and program creation on delisting of species.