The Facts
* Less than 2% of species have been removed from the ESA’s endangered list in 40 years.
* Nearly 100 species in Texas are set for potential listing by 2017.
* The ESA’s protection of a tiny fish in California called the Delta Smelt in the middle of acute water shortages caused by an historic drought—California was forced to flush three million acre feet of water allocated for human use into the ocean.
Recommendations
* Avoid a top-down state-centralized program for Texas response to ESA listings.