The uncertain future of the country's preeminent biodiversity law

The MoJo Daily newsletter, Monday through Friday. [View in browser]( [Mother Jones Daily Newsletter](     December 21, 2023 One of my obsessions, as a science reporter, is the [Endangered Species Act](. It's a short law, fewer than 50 pages in PDF form, yet it's one of America's most powerful environmental laws and, as a result, also one of the most controversial. So, ahead of its 50th birthday this month, our newsroom just published what my editor jokingly called "the ESA magnum opus": a [series of stories]( that explore the law's legacy and uncertain future, as it's bombarded by political attacks, climate mayhem, and just plain old government bureaucracy. In other cases, weak spots in the law have undermined it from within. Of the five stories I wrote for this series (I told you I was obsessed), perhaps my favorite is a dispatch about the Venus flytrap. As I discovered on a reporting trip to the boggy wetlands of coastal North Carolina, the ESA is designed to be nature’s “emergency room,” but it does little to protect species from landing there in the first place. The Venus flytrap, which grows naturally in the state, is one of the many species that is stuck in a kind of limbo—its wild populations aren’t doing well, but until its situation worsens, there is no federal law that can help. There is, however, one determined biologist. On my trip, I followed flytrap maven Julie Moore, a former Fish and Wildlife Service scientist who's devoted her retirement to protecting Venus flytraps. Together, we hunted for some of the last remaining wild flytrap populations in the world, trudging through wet forests, knocking on doors, and even talking our way into a posh retirement community. You'll have to [read the story]( to see what we found. But I will say, even as someone with a degree in Earth Sciences, I came away from the trip seeing conversation—why we need it, and how it gets done—in an entirely new light. And, after months of working on this project, I'm still just as obsessed with our preeminent biodiversity law. I hope you'll check the [story]( out, and the entire series, [here](. —Jackie Flynn Mogensen P.S. Yesterday, we asked for some [parenting advice](, and whoa, did a lot of you respond with all sorts of perspectives. Today, we have a question that will hopefully garner just as many responses: Might you part with a few bucks to [support the journalism you get from Mother Jones](? Our year-end fundraising push has had some slower days than expected, and we could really use a boost heading into the long holiday weekend if there’s any way you can [help us out]( right now. Advertisement [House Subscriptions Ad]( [Top Story] [Top Story]( [Endangered]( For 50 years, the Endangered Species Act has been one of our most valuable environmental tools. Can it survive today's attacks? MOTHER JONES STAFF MOJO MUST-READS BY DANIEL SCHULMAN   The Money Kings: The Epic Story of the Jewish Immigrants Who Transformed Wall Street and Shaped Modern America The incredible saga of the German-Jewish immigrants—with now familiar names like Goldman and Sachs, Kuhn and Loeb, Warburg and Schiff, Lehman and Seligman—who profoundly influenced the rise of modern finance, from New York Times best-selling author Daniel Schulman. [Get The Money Kings here.]( [Trending] [New EPA review could bring an end to toxic, flammable vinyl chloride]( BY KILEY BENSE   [Cartels, Hezbollah, police violence: How big tobacco is stoking opposition to menthol cigarette ban]( BY DAN FRIEDMAN AND ISABELA DIAS   [Inside the GOP’s decades-long strategy to undo the Endangered Species Act—one critter at a time]( BY JACKIE FLYNN MOGENSEN   [Do we need zoos to save endangered species?]( BY NIA T. EVANS Advertisement [House Bookshop Ad]( [Special Feature] [Special Feature]( [Cartels, Hezbollah, police violence: How big tobacco is stoking opposition to menthol cigarette ban]( Is it racist to ban Newports? BY DAN FRIEDMAN AND ISABELA DIAS [We need your help right now] We have a big $350,000 year-end fundraising goal, and whether or not we raise [the money we need]( is going to come down to the wire. If there’s any way you can right now, please help and support the journalism you get from Mother Jones with a year-end gift of whatever amount works for you. $5 or $50, it all makes a difference when added up with your fellow readers. [Donate]( Did you enjoy this newsletter? Help us out by [forwarding]( it to a friend or sharing it on [Facebook]( and [Twitter](. [Mother Jones]( [Donate]( [Donate Monthly]( [Subscribe]( This message was sent to {EMAIL}. To change the messages you receive from us, you can [edit your email preferences]( or [unsubscribe from all mailings.]( For advertising opportunities see our online [media kit.]( Were you forwarded this email? [Sign up for Mother Jones' newsletters today.]( [www.MotherJones.com]( PO Box 8539, Big Sandy, TX 75755