Senate Holds Hearing On Endangered Species Act Reform

On March 18, 2026, the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Fisheries, Water, and Wildlife convened a hearing to examine ongoing challenges and potential improvements in the implementation of the Endangered Species Act (ESA). As we previously reported, Rep. Westerman (R-Ark.), Chair of the House Natural Resources Committee, is the lead author of H.R. 1897, a bill to reauthorize the ESA that was voted out of that Committee in December 2025. With both chambers now engaged, we are closer to significant ESA legislative reform than at any time in the past two decades.

A Candid Look at ESA Performance

Subcommittee Chair Sen. Ricketts (R‑Neb.) opened the hearing with a candid assessment of the ESA’s track record. While acknowledging its successes in preventing extinctions, he pointed to the law’s low recovery rate: of the more than 1,700 species listed, only 57 have been delisted due to recovery. Sen. Ricketts made the case that the ESA’s track record raises fundamental