The Endangered Species Act and federalism : effective conservation through greater state commitment / edited by Kaush Arha and Barton H. Thompson, Jr.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Federalism under the Endangered Species Act / Kaush Arha and Barton H. Thompson, Jr. -- An economic assessment of environmental federalism : the optimal locus of endangered species authority / Terry L. Anderson and Lawrence Reed Watson -- Cooperative federalism and the Endangered Species Act : a comparative assessment and call for change / J.B. Ruhl -- Listing decisions, conservation agreements, and state-federal collaboration : a litigation perspective / Eileen Sobeck and Paul S. Weiland -- The evolution of federalism under section 6 of the Endangered Species Act / Robert P. Davison -- California's Natural Community Conservation Planning Program : saving species habitat amid rising development / Gail L. Presley -- The Karner blue butterfly : Wisconsin's statewide habitat conservation plan / David R. Lentz and Jimmy S. Christenson -- The red-cockaded woodpecker : conservation through statewide safe harbor agreements / Ralph Costa and Richard Gooch -- Saving salmo : federalism and the conservation of Maine's Atlantic salmon / Alison Rieser -- Oregon coastal coho restoration and the Endangered Species Act / Gail L. Achterman and Julia Doermann -- Grizzly bear conservation in the greater Yellowstone ecosystem : a case study in the Endangered Species Act and federalism / Kaush Arha and John Emmerich -- Toward greater state and local commitment / Kaush Arha and Barton H. Thompson, Jr.

States today play a major role in implementing and enforcing environmental laws such as the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. A thirty year review of ESA identified state leadership in species conservation as a necessary element in better conserving the nation?s imperiled species, yet the theoretical and practical reasons and applications of an enhanced state role are little understood and have not been subjected to any meaningful analysis. This book, for the first time, presents the legal and policy analysis for federalism considerations in implementing ESA. The book undertakes a comprehensive analysis of the economic rationale for federalism in ESA administration; compares administration of ESA to other major environmental statutes; reviews various tools under the existing Act to enhance state role in species conservation; evaluates major case studies to determine roles the state can play in species conservation and recovery; and concludes with policy recommendations to encourage greater state involvement in species conservation.