Anmerkungen:
Nach Informationen von SSRN wurde die ursprüngliche Fassung des Dokuments December 14, 2012 erstellt
Beschreibung:
On March 8, 2012, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service and the Department of the Interior’s Fish and Wildlife Services revealed a new conservation program called Working Lands for Wildlife. This federally funded partnership devotes 33 million dollars to voluntary landowner habitat conservation for seven target species, including two rare Pennsylvanian species, the bog turtle and the golden-winged warbler. In exchange for an agreement to improve habitats for one of these species, landowners receive a promise from regulating agencies that any incidental harm to the species caused by their habitat conservation practices will be exempt from penalties under the Endangered Species Act (hereinafter “ESA”). Landowners also receive some technical and financial assistance to support their conservation efforts. Although Working Lands for Wildlife provides these admirable new incentives for habitat conservation, the program could also be used to avoid ESA listings for currently unlisted species, like the golden-winged warbler. This article argues the program’s potential costs and benefits to unlisted species should be carefully weighed, and the program cannot serve as a politically convenient procedure to abandon listing efforts