Alaska vs. the Sea Lions

The endangered-species list is supposed to offer temporary refuge. In its 37-year history, however, more than a thousand animals have been added and only a few dozen removed (most often because of extinction or miscounts). Part of the problem is the federal government, which admits that it’s slow to remove recovered species. That chafes governors, who curb industry to protect the creatures. Now Alaska is pushing for a faster review.

Earlier this month the state petitioned Uncle Sam to drop Steller sea lion protections, arguing that the species has bounced back according to the government’s own targets. Oregon and Washington followed, calling the suggested five-year waiting period “a waste of time”—and money. Unrestricted fishing and oil exploration off the West Coast and Alaska are worth tens of millions, even billions, of dollars a year. If the feds don’t act by year’s end, Alaska could sue. “We’ve put them on the clock,” says Doug Vincent-Lang, the state’s endangered-species coordinator. A spokesman for the National Marine Fisheries Service says species are “under constant review.”