The grizzly bear is one of the Endangered Species Act's success stories.

The Endangered Species Act is one of the great success stories for both the environment and the government. Since it was enacted in 1973, the government has been charged with protecting not just species that were on the brink of extinction, but habitat critical for both endangered and threatened species.

When the Act was passed, there were as few as 400 pairs of bald eagles in the lower 48 states. Now there are more than 7,000. The gray wolf was down to perhaps 200. Now that’s 3,500. But those examples are just some of the more visible victories in an admirable list.

The Endangered Species Act has been nearly 100 percent successful in saving species from extinction.

According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 99 percent of the species ever listed under the Endangered Species Act remain on the planet today.

A study published in the Annual Review of Ecological Systematics identified 172 species that may have become extinct during the period from 1973 to 1998 if Endangered Species Act protections had not been implemented.

That’s an impressive record. But keeping animals and plants from becoming extinct is not always the top priority—for some, anyway.

In control of Congress and soon the White House, Republicans are readying plans to roll back the influence of the Endangered Species Act, one of the government's most powerful conservation tools, after decades of complaints that it hinders drilling, logging and other activities. ... "Any species that gets in the way of a congressional initiative or some kind of development will be clearly at risk," said Jamie Rappaport Clark, president of Defenders of Wildlife and a former Fish and Wildlife Service director under President Bill Clinton. "The political lineup is as unfavorable to the Endangered Species Act as I can remember."

Republicans spread the idea that the ESA disregards jobs and rips away private land. Neither myth has ever been true. But just like the animals and plants it protects, the ESA is a symbol. In this case, it’s a symbol of both government success and environmental concern.

And for that, it has to die.