On the brink: The Endangered Species Act Around the world, plant and animal species are going extinct at a rate faster than any time in human history. The Endangered Species Act, signed into law 46 years ago, has succeeded in preventing hundreds of species on the list from going extinct, and has recovered 54 species. But new regulatory changes to the Act are being finalized by the Trump administration, which may weaken its ability to protect wildlife and habitat, and – say wildlife advocates – speed extinctions. Conor Knighton reports.