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In spite of broad-based support for protecting wildlife and wild spaces, the substance of the Endangered Species Act is under threat, Wendee Nicole writes for Deceleration this week. Below she highlights several species who saw their numbers dramatically recover thanks to wildlife conservation steered by the ESA.

Green & Kemp’s Ridley Sea Turtles

Both green and Kemp’s ridley sea turtles (pictured above) have remarkable comeback stories under the Endangered Species Act. For both species, early European colonists claimed they were so abundant they could walk from boat to shore upon their backs. 

Kemp’s ridleys were once the most endangered, reaching a low of 702 nests in Mexico in 1985. But in 1978, scientists had started relocating eggs to Padre Island National Seashore in a creative attempt to create a new nesting beach. It worked. While nesting numbers widely fluctuate, the summer of 2025 brought record numbers in Texas, nearly 400 nests, with more in Mexico (where 95 percent of nesting occurs). 

Green turtles live in warm waters around the world, but in the US, nest on sandy beaches and feed on seagrasses off Florida, Hawaii, and US Pacific Island territories. Recovery efforts have increased nesting success on Florida beaches dramatically, from less than 300 nests in 1989 throughout Florida to more than 24,000 in 2023, and 14,000 in 2024. Recovery is on the right track.  

ESA protections allow communities to enact ordinances to reduce artificial lights that otherwise disorient hatchlings and nesting adults, to reverse beach degradation, and to ensure commercial fishers use Turtle Excluder Devices (TEDs) to prevent drowning. On land, both species still face loss of nesting habitat from coastal development and lights that affect their nesting, and in the sea, they face death from plastics entanglement, shifting food sources due to the effects of climate change on ocean ecosystems, and ocean pollution and acidification. They still need the ESA.

California Condor

Endangered California condors have the widest wingspan of any bird in North America, and play a crucial ecosystem role as scavengers. The population dropped to 22 individuals in the 1980s, and a controversial decision was made to capture all of the wild free-flying condors for a captive breeding program so they could retain the existing genetic diversity. 

That decision paid dividends. After being first reintroduced in 1992 at Hopper Mountain National Wildlife Refuge, more than 300 condors now live in the wild. They’ve been reintroduced at six sites in California, Mexico, and Arizona. 

The ESA has been key in reversing the dire circumstances of this imperiled species, providing for resources to help recover the birds from the brink of extinction. From passing the first statewide requirement for non-lead ammunition in the country to stopping short-sighted oil and gas drilling on public lands in Condor country to cleaning up microtrash that harms the birds, environmental organizations have been fighting for California condor recovery for decades. But these birds are not out of the woods yet. 

Florida Panther

The Florida Panther population rebounded from merely 10 cats at their lowest to somewhere between 120 and 230 adults. The ESA helped usher in funding for purchasing large areas of public lands, including the Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge, and research to improve their genetics, since inbreeding has led to severely decreased fertility. 

As an endangered species, every new road and project in their habitat must consider whether it will harm Florida panthers. This led to the development of wildlife crossings for panthers, which benefit other species, too. 

Florida panthers are on the right track, but face significant struggles. Lately, their kittens have been dying from a neuromuscular disorder that affects their back legs, from an unknown issue. Scientists believe it could be rodenticide, pesticides, or another toxin in the environment. 

Vehicle strikes kill many panthers every year, since roads bisect their habitat. In fact, 2024 was one of the deadliest years on record, with 47 panthers killed, mostly from vehicle collisions. ESA’s protection, if followed, can help ensure they recover.

Gray Wolves

Gray wolves once roamed in much of the lower 48 plus Alaska but by the 1970s, were wiped out almost everywhere, except northern Minnesota. Their 1974 listing allowed scientists to restore the species, with introductions in Yellowstone National Park and in central Idaho starting in 1995. Both “experimental, non-essential” (10j) populations thrived. It was a huge Endangered Species Act success story, from zero to more than 5,000 animals—until it wasn’t. 

After delisting in 2011 until 2021, more than 3,500 wolves were killed for sport and out of hatred. Environmental groups worked hard on coexistence programs that compensated ranchers for lost livestock and improved attitudes for wolf recovery—to some extent. 

Multiple lawsuits have changed their ESA status back and forth, and in various regions. Presently, they’re state-managed in Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming, where they face intense hunting pressure, and federally listed everywhere else. Yet even as wolves naturally recolonize Colorado, Oregon, Washington, and California, the “Pet and Livestock Protection Act of 2025” is working its way through Congress to delist wolves and return management to all states. 

Under ESA, endangered is defined as “throughout all or a significant portion of its range.” Gray wolves used to live throughout most of the lower 48 but currently occupy about 15% of their historic range there. “If you’re glass half full, you’d say ‘There’s thousands of wolves in two different places.… They’re not at risk of extinction’, so we’re all done, we should not need any more protections from the federal government,” says Vucetich, who studies wolves on Michigan’s Isle Royale. “But the courts have said no, emphatically, every time.” How they’ll fare under the current administration remains to be seen.

This story by Wendee Nicole was originally published by Deceleration and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. WhoWhatWhy has been a partner in Covering Climate Now since its inception in 2019.