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How The Mississippi Gopher Frog Illustrates Fight Over Endangered Species Act

The dusky gopher frog. (U.S. Department of Agriculture via Wikimedia Commons)
The dusky gopher frog. (U.S. Department of Agriculture via Wikimedia Commons)

Republicans in Congress want to overhaul the Endangered Species Act, saying it places an undue burden on private landowners. Supporters of the act say it’s saved hundreds, if not thousands, of species from extinction.

Here & Now‘s Peter O’Dowd gets perspective on the act’s achievements from Kieran Suckling (@KieranSuckling), executive director of the Center for Biological Diversity.

Also, we hear from Edward Poitevent, an attorney with the law firm Stone Pigman Walther Wittmann. Poitevent’s family owns land that has been deemed critical habitat for the Mississippi gopher frog — a designation he is suing the government to reverse.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.