Did you know The Endangered Species Act saves human lives too?

The Endangered Species Act Doesn’t Just Save Wildlife — It Literally Saves Human Lives
For 52 years, the ESA has protected the ecosystems we all depend on for survival. By saving habitats like wetlands, rivers, floodplains, forests, and coastal marshes — home to endangered species — the Act delivers priceless “ecosystem services” that protect people from disasters, disease, and poisoned water.

Here are real, documented ways the ESA has saved (and continues to) save human lives:

Flood Prevention – Wetlands and floodplains protected for species like whooping cranes, piping plovers, salmon, and freshwater mussels act like giant sponges, absorbing floodwaters.

Louisiana’s coastal wetlands (protected for brown pelicans, sea turtles, etc.) reduced Hurricane Katrina storm surge by feet in many areas. Every mile of marsh cuts surge height by ~1 foot.
One acre of wetland can store up to 1.5 million gallons of floodwater — enough to prevent billions in property damage and countless deaths in storms like Harvey, Florence, and Helene.

Cleaner Drinking Water – Protecting rivers and wetlands for fish, mussels, and plants filters out pollutants, bacteria, and chemicals naturally.
Florida Everglades restoration (driven by ESA listings for panthers, snails, and wood storks) filters water for 9 million people in South Florida.
Removes the need for expensive treatment plants and prevents outbreaks of waterborne diseases that kill thousands of Americans yearly.
Disease Control – Healthy predator-prey balance and wetlands stop mosquito explosions and Lyme disease spread.

Wolves and cougars (protected by ESA) keep deer numbers in check → fewer deer ticks → less Lyme disease. Restored wetlands eat mosquito larvae.
Lyme cases have skyrocketed in areas where top predators were lost; ESA wolf recovery in the Great Lakes region has measurably reduced tick-borne illness risk.

Storm Surge & Hurricane Protection – Coastal marshes and mangroves saved by ESA listings for sea turtles, manatees, and beach mice.
Protected salt marshes along the Gulf and Atlantic coasts absorbed massive surge during Sandy, Ian, and Ida — saving entire neighborhoods.
The Army Corps of Engineers now says healthy coastal wetlands provide better flood protection than many man-made levees — at zero cost to taxpayers.

Carbon Storage & Heat Wave Reduction – Forests and peatlands protected for owls, lynx, and caribou store billions of tons of carbon and keep local climates cooler.

Prevents worse wildfires and heat waves that are already killing hundreds of Americans every summer.

ESA-protected habitats are our best natural defense against climate-amplified disasters.
Bottom line: Every time the ESA stops a pipeline from ripping through a wetland, blocks clear-cutting in a floodplain, or forces a developer to leave a buffer along a river, it’s not just helping a bird or a fish — it’s protecting your family from the next billion-dollar flood or disease outbreak.
They want to gut this
If these rollbacks pass, we lose the legal tools that force smart development and keep these life-saving ecosystems intact.

We’re trying to raise just $750 by the weekend night to blast this message to thousands more people across Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan, Illinois, and Iowa.
30 people giving $25 or 15 giving $50 keeps wolves on the landscape, monarchs in the air, and floodwaters out of your basement.