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)
December 31, 2023
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December 31, 2023 2:42 p.m.
Most money for endangered species goes to a small number of creatures, leaving others in limbo
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.