Stakeholder Experience with Voluntary Conservation Measures under the Endangered Species Act

On September 26, 2014, the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions at Duke University, with funding from the Oak Ridge Associated Universities consortium, convened a half-day meeting in Washington, D.C., at which representatives from private and federal organizations as well as leading ESA researchers discussed stakeholders’ experience with voluntary conservation measures under the Endangered Species Act, data gaps that preclude more widespread implementation of such activities, and research activities necessary to contribute new and vital information. The primary insights from the meeting are that experience with existing voluntary conservation tools under the Endangered Species Act provides a basis for the design of new approaches and that the design process requires a solid foundation of legal, institutional, economic, and empirical, field-based information.