In an op-ed in yesterday's Las Vegas Review-Journal, Director H. Dale Hall writes that
[t]he ESA is a good and powerful law that has proved its worth over the past 35 years. However, the lack of clear guidance and definition of important terms from Congress has allowed mischief to occur. The ESA needs to be reauthorized with whatever guidance the Congress and president deem appropriate. The Fish and Wildlife Service should revamp the existing regulations (last overhauled in 1986) to reflect the experience our professionals have gained over the past 22 years. Finally, the Fish and Wildlife Service needs funding to address species needs before they become threatened, as well as to list and recover those species already on the list.