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Introduction and thirty to forty species of birds believed to be near extinction. There are now over a thousand species on the federal list of threatened and endangered species-and this only begins to scratch the surface of the problem. Some 3,900 species have been identified as candidates for listing in the United States alone. In tropical countries, extinction rates dwarf these figures. This is the backdrop against which any strategy for species conservation must be evaluated. Yet if the extinction problem is greater than we had ever imagined, so too is the power and scope of the act itself. The act has been criticized for its lack of flexibility. But the absolute mandate, which has proved remarkably resilient, has provided strong incentives for parties involved in species conservation cases to look beyond the courtroom for resolution of conflicts. The initial response of developers, whose plans jeopardize a species' existence, often has been to set up a win/lose battle pitting economic development against species conservation. Yet this sort of adversarial approach, typified by the Tellico Dam case, is increasingly costly-and ultimately self-defeating. In his essay in Part III, Dan Tarlock points out that the judicial decisions favoring species protection in water rights cases have stimulated interest in alternative ways to meet the obligations of the act and still permit water development. In his discussion of pesticide regulations, Jim Serfis reaches a similar conclusion: "Because protection may be achieved in many different ways, there is a tremendous though often untapped potential to devise solutions that protect species while allowing prudent use of certain pesticides." The Section 7 consultation process offers a structure within which diverse groups might pursue creative problem solving. In Part II, Steven Yaffee elaborates on this idea, suggesting that the endangered species problem is principally aland-use problem and that the consultation process has "gotten the endangered species program into land-use planning through the back door." Similarly, in Part I, George Goggins illustrates how the act "has had broad and deep consequences for land use in America." Another theme, although not new, is a pivotal issue. To win philosophical support for endangered species protection as an abstract concept is relatively easy; to garner the necessary re- sources and political support to implement on-the-ground pro-