Since its inception in 1973, the Endangered Species Act has been credited with helping to bring numerous species back from the brink of extinction. But as the country has continued to grow and develop it has also forced us to grapple with balancing the needs of endangered wildlife with the needs of humans. Today on The Sunday Story from Up First, host Ayesha Rascoe is joined by Montana Public Radio's Nick Mott to talk about his reporting on the Endangered Species Act, in a new podcast called The Wide Open, and how we navigate our complicated relationship with nature. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy
I'm Aisha Roscoe.
This is the Sunday story from up first, where we go beyond the news of the day to bring you one big story.
So I'm a real city slicker, okay?
I am not someone who you're gonna catch out on a hiking trail.
And I don't like to rough it.
Not at all.
Wherever I go, there needs to be running water, there needs to be a working toilet, and there should be some wifi.
Okay?
But even though I'm not a nature girl, I do like the idea of the wilderness.
And I do like to see it from afar through a window in a nice heated cabin.
And, you know, the thing of it is, is that the wild animals that we think of often when we're thinking of wilderness, a lot of those animals would not be here at all if it weren't for this 51 year old federal law, the Endangered Species Act.
The Endangered Species act is said to be one of the strongest pieces of environmental legislation we have on the books.
It's been credited with saving the lives of grizzly bears and wolves that were hunted to the brink of extinction, bald eagle populations that were decimated by pesticides, and woodpeckers affected by deforestation.
But there are also plenty of critics of the law, people who say it has gone too far and has caused grave harm to communities and economies across the nation.
Nick Mott lives in a place where the debate over the Endangered Species act is both relevant and very raw.
Montana.
Mott's a reporter with Montana Public Radio, and he's produced the podcast the Wide Open, which explores the country's complicated and changing relationship with the Endangered Species Act.
He joins me now.
Hi, Nick.
Hey, Aisha.