Forty Years of Endangered Species: Conflict and Conservation in California and Beyond

The landmark federal Endangered Species Act—the most powerful and comprehensive U.S. environmental law, and the most ambitious biodiversity conservation statute ever enacted by any country—turns forty in 2013. Is this anniversary cause for celebration or despair? What have we learned during the past four decades? Why is endangered species conservation so complicated? And why do efforts to preserve species often result in such bitter controversy? This year’s Plous lecture will address these questions, place them in a broader historical context, and discuss some of the challenges and opportunities for conservation in the twenty-first century.
Peter S. Alagona is an assistant professor of history and environmental studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Before joining the UCSB faculty, he was a Beagle Environmental Fellow in the Center for the Environment and Kennedy School of Government at Harvard and a postdoctoral fellow and visiting assistant professor in the Bill Lane Center for the American West at Stanford.

The Harold J. Plous Memorial Award was established in 1957 to honor Harold J. Plous,
Assistant Professor of Economics. The award is given annually to a faculty member of the rank of
Assistant Professor or Instructor who has demonstrated outstanding performance by creative action
or contribution to the intellectual life of the college community.

hm 5/6/13