bills.
290 12 • Environmental Protection and Negative Externalities

The property rights approach is highly relevant in cases involving endangered species. The U.S. government’s

endangered species list includes about 1,000 plants and animals, and about 90% of these species live on

privately owned land. The protection of these endangered species requires careful thinking about incentives

and property rights. The discovery of an endangered species on private land has often triggered an automatic

reaction from the government to prohibit the landowner from using that land for any purpose that might

disturb the imperiled creatures. Consider the incentives of that policy: If you admit to the government that you

have an endangered species, the government effectively prohibits you from using your land. As a result,

rumors abounded of landowners who followed a policy of “shoot, shovel, and shut up” when they found an
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