The Endangered Species Act (ESA) has been around for over 40 years, and now republicans want to get rid of it. There are handfuls of bills and amendments that are aimed towards the ESA this year, one of them, H.R. 24, would strip grey wolves of protection in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan and Wyoming.

1. The success of the ESA is amazing.

It has saved 70 species – including the American Grey Wolf, The Grizzly Bear, and the American Alligator – it has a success rate of almost 100 percent. There have only been 10 species that have gone extinct since the act started, 8 of those 10 were likely extinct before being protected.

2. Per the U.S. Fish and Wildlife services, 99 percent of the species ever listed under the ESA remain on this planet today.

A study published in the Annual Review of Ecological Systematics said that 172 species may have become extinct from 1973 to 1998 if ESA had not been implemented.

3.Republicans argue that the ESA rips away private land, and disregards jobs.

But the ESA is a symbol of government success and environmental concern. The ESA is also one of the most powerful conservation tools. One point that Republicans have is that only 70 species have been recovered to the point of being removed from the endangered species list. That’s 70 species that have been saved in 40 years.

4. President Trump’s position is unclear.

Republicans are pushing for reform. "It has never been used for the rehabilitation of species. It's been used for control of the land," said House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Rob Bishop. "We've missed the entire purpose of the Endangered Species Act. It has been hijacked."

Reform plans include limiting protection for some species as well as creating a cap of how many species can be protected. Currently there are over 1,600 plants and animals in the U.S. that are shielded by the ESA, and hundreds more are under consideration for protection.