I was pleased to see that the Endangered Species Act (ESA) had reached its 50th birthday.
Not too long before it was enacted, I was a boy wandering the exhibits in the American Museum of Natural History (trailed by my weary parents, who were wondering if I would ever grow out of this ‘phase’).
But the excitement I felt as I delved into the wonders of natural history was tempered by a sense of sadness. I knew in the preceding century, we had driven the most abundant bird in North America, the passenger pigeon, to extinction. I knew we had decimated the American bison, once found in the millions on the great plains, leaving only token remnants. I knew there were many other fascinating creatures on the edge of extinction. I felt a profound sense of loss. I made my home in Alaska in the early 1980s in part because I knew that its vast size and sparse population made it a refuge for many creatures that were lost or rare elsewhere.
Last spring, while visiting California, I hiked in Pinnacles National Park and watched America’s largest bird, the California condor, soaring in the sky. I’ve been to Florida and seen that American alligators have become downright common there. These are just two of the success stories that can be chalked up to the ESA. We should all be grateful to the legislators who voted nearly unanimously to enact the ESA half a century ago. The world would be a poorer place had they not done so.
— John McConnaughy
Anchorage
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