Endangered Species Act

I have grown milkweed at commercial scale for 35 years. My family has been in the nursery business since 1959, and our farm in Tennessee sits in the middle of the eastern monarch migration corridor. I have watched this crisis unfold from the field, not from a research station or a policy desk, but from the rows where the plants come out of the ground.

Have you heard of permitting reform?
It’s one of the hottest topics in the United States Congress, and four influential Senators recently unveiled a new permitting reform bill aimed at speeding up industrial energy projects of all types, from oil and gas pipelines to wind and solar facilities. Permitting reform changes the rules and timelines that govern how large projects receive government approval.

Seven former leaders of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and NOAA Fisheries have sent a letter to Interior Secretary Douglas Burgum and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick urging the administration to withdraw its recent rollback of the Endangered Species Act’s definition of “harm.”

From 3-inch fireworms to 6-foot nurse sharks, these reefs are alive.
That statement is subjectively true, but what does it mean for a reef to be alive in today’s world?

Throughout my career as a conservationist, I’ve often been asked some version of the same question:
“Where do you find the motivation? How do you keep from losing hope?”

As Congress considers H.R. 9436, a bill that would further delay protections for the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale, opposition is clear from constituents and conservation leaders across the East Coast.

Texans Push Back as Offshore Drilling Advances Without Endangered Species Act Safeguards

For generations, fireflies have turned ordinary summer evenings into something magical. Their tiny flashes drift through backyards, fields, forests, and wetlands, creating a natural wonder cherished around the world. For many of us, they are woven into childhood memories, symbols of warm nights, healthy landscapes, and the simple joy of being outside after sunset.

But today, that familiar glow is under threat.

Our federal lands and wildlife belong to us. Our public tax dollars should be going towards our shared natural resources and ensuring their protection for generations to come. However, the Trump administration’s proposed 2027 federal budget fails our wildlife and us by cutting endangered species program funding by 22%.

Florida’s staghorn and elkhorn corals once helped build the living reefs that protect coastlines, support fisheries, shelter marine life, and define Florida’s ocean heritage. Their functional extinction is a heartbreaking warning about what happens when climate change, pollution, and underfunded conservation collide. But this moment must also be a call to action: with fully funded coral recovery programs, science-based protections, and renewed commitment to the Endangered Species Act, Florida’s reefs can still have a fighting chance.