Since passage of the Endangered Species Act 50 years ago, more than 1,700 plants, mammals, fish, insects and other species in the U.S. have been listed as threatened or endangered with extinction. Yet they’re not treated equally: federal government spending data reveals striking disparities among biological kingdoms. About $1.2 billion a year is spent on species in the U.S. and about half goes toward recovery of just two types of fish: salmon and steelhead trout along the West Coast. Tens of millions of dollars more go to other widely known species including manatees, right whales, grizzly bears and spotted owls. The large sums directed toward a handful of species means others have gone neglected.
