Most money for endangered species goes to a small number of creatures, leaving others in limbo
This image released by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service shows a flower from a shrub known as marrón bacora on March 21, 2021. The flowering shrub, found in dry forests on St. John’s, Virgin Islands, is threatened by predation, invasive species, urban sprawl, and climate change. (USFWS via AP)
This image released by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service shows a Stephens’ kangaroo rat is seen on a person's knee as it’s held by the tail on Oct. 16, 2017. They have fur-lined external cheek pouches used to transport seeds and large hind legs used for jumping. Large sums of government money directed toward a handful of species means others, such as the kangaroo rat, have gone neglected in some cases for decades after they were given federal protections. (Joanna Gilkeson/USFWS via AP)
This August 2017 photo provided by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service shows a winter-run Chinook salmon. About half of government spending on threatened and endangered species goes toward efforts to conserve two types of fish, salmon and steelhead, along the U.S. West Coast. (Steve Martarano/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service via AP, File)
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Since passage of the Endangered Species Act 50 years ago, more than 1,700 plants, mammals, fish, insects and other species in the U.S. have been listed as threatened or endangered with extinction. Yet federal government data reveals striking disparities in how much money is allocated to save various biological kingdoms.
Of the roughly $1.2 billion a year spent on endangered and threatened species, about half goes toward recovery of just two types of fish: salmon and steelhead trout along the West Coast. Tens of millions of dollars go to other widely known animals including manatees, right whales, grizzly bears and spotted owls.
But the large sums directed toward a handful of species means others have gone neglected, in some cases for decades, as they teeter on potential extinction.
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