Systemic Political Capacity and Regulatory Failure: Evidence From Proactive Conservation Under the Endangered Species Act

Contemporary governance faces mounting environmental challenges, straining governmental capacity to achieve policy objectives. We extend Wu et al.'s policy capacity framework, arguing that systemic political capacity is grounded in political trust, itself conditioned by legitimacy. Applying this framework to proactive conservation under the U.S. Endangered Species Act, we analyze the failure of Colorado’s sage-grouse initiative. Findings suggest contested legitimacy surrounding coercive federal intervention diminished political trust in regulatory authority, constraining systemic political capacity and limiting development of enforceable conservation arrangements satisfying federal requirements. The analysis has broader implications for collaborative governance dependent on credible regulatory authority.