After reading and reflecting on the National Association of Homebuilders v

The court decided that the Endangered Species Act was constitutional because it found that by eliminating just one species in one state could impact multiple states, also taking into account option value. They relied on the Hodel v. Virginia case, in which mining companies were forced to return the landscape to its original composition after surface mining - this was policy enacted in 1977 by the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act. Mining associations had issue with this because the process of mining a location occurred within a singular state. The Hodel v. Virginia case set precedence, as the act was upheld with the idea that environmental quality (in relation to mining operations) did influence interstate commerce.

If the plaintiffs had won 521 out of the 1082 species on the Endangered Species listed at the time (as well as in current times) would be at risk of individual state regulation and thus the priorities of the state. The value of state biodiversity and collective species (especially endangered that exist solely in one state) would not be considered to influence interstate commerce. If the plaintiffs had won it would have set a dangerous precedent to place economic or infrastructural gains over endangered species, as well as distract from the idea that issues presented with endangered species can be broad and far reaching. I think this would have undermined the ESA and its effort to persevere and protect endangered and threatened species across the US.