Endangered Species Act

The Endangered Species Act (7 U.S.C. 136; 16 U.S.C. 460 et seq. (1973)) of 1973 or ESA was the most wide-ranging of dozens of United States environmental laws passed in the 1970s in an attempt to halt or reverse the degradation of the environment. The act is designed to protect critically imperiled species from extinction due to "the consequences of economic growth and development untempered by adequate concern and conservation." Congress passed its first legislation to protect endangered vertebrates in 1966 and expanded the law again in 1969. In 1973 Congress expanded both the scope and power of species protection by creating the Endangered Species Act. The stated purpose of the Act is not only to protect species, but also "the ecosystems upon which they depend." At the species level, the Act protects all plants and animals, while previously laws protected only vertebrates. If forbids federal agencies from authorizing, funding or carrying out actions which may jeopardize endangered species species. It forbids any government agency, corporation, or citizen from taking (i.e. harming or killing) endangered animals without a permit. At the ecosystem level, the Act requires that endangered species be granted "critical habitats" which encompass all areas necessary for their recovery. Federal agencies are forbidden from authorizing, funding, or carrying out any action which "destroys or adversely modifies" a critical habitat area.

Related Topics:
1973 - United States environmental law - 1970s - Environment - Extinction

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ESA is administered by two federal agencies, the Fish and Wildlife Service and NOAA Fisheries (formerly the National Marine Fisheries Service. NOAA Fisheries handles marine species, and the FWS has responsibility over freshwater fishes and all other species. The FWS has set up an Endangered Species Program that evolves habitat conservation plans intended to coordinate the requirements of species and corporate and private owners of essential habitat.

Related Topics:
Fish and Wildlife Service - National Marine Fisheries Service

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The Act was passed in the wake of a 1973 conference in Washington DC that led to the signing of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which restricted international commerce in plant and animal species believed to be actually or potentially harmed by trade.

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