"We've missed the entire purpose of the Endangered Species Act. "The political lineup is as unfavorable to the Endangered Species Act as I can remember." Spokesman Mike Danylak said Barrasso will seek to "strengthen and modernize" the management of endangered species but offered no specifics. "The real question with the Endangered Species Act is where does it rank?" Advocates and senior Obama administration officials argue the law's success is best measured by extinctions avoided — for 99 percent of protected species, including black-footed ferrets, whooping cranes, American crocodiles and hundreds of others.

Source: ABC News January 17, 2017 06:37 UTC