EMERGING REGULATORY ISSUES
Report: Cost of Endangered Species Act Underestimated
A new report by an environmental research firm has estimated the cost of the Endangered Species Act, and its subsequent regulations, to be roughly $3.5 billion per year. This estimate is far higher than the government’s estimate – prepared by the Fish and Wildlife Service - of $610 million.

"PERC's [Property and Environment Research Center] study shows that the government has no idea what the ESA is truly costing, but it does give us an idea of the enormous human costs of ESA regulation – and they're often devastating. People have lost their jobs, businesses, homes, farms, and even their lives to protect plants, insects, and fish," said Emma T. Suárez, an attorney with Pacific Legal Foundation. "