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.

External links

• 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq. (2000) Full text of the Endangered Species Act
• {{Web reference | title=History and Evolution of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 | work= US Fish & Wildlife Service | URL=http://www.fws.gov/endangered/esa.html The Endangered Species Act of 1973 | date=October 27 | year=2004}}
• {{Web reference | title=History and Evolution of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 | work= US Fish & Wildlife Service | URL=http://www.fws.gov/endangered/ESA/esasum.html | date=October | year=1996}}
• {{Web reference_simple | title=Center for Biological Diversity | URL=http://www.biologicaldiversity.org | date=July 25 | year=2005}}
• {{Web reference | title=TVA vs. Hill | work=FindLaw for Legal Professionals | URL=http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=us&vol=437&invol=153 | date=July 25 | year=2005}} The 1978 decision related to the ESA and the snail darter.
• {{Web reference_simple | title=National Endangered Species Act Reform Coalition | URL=http://www.nesarc.org/ | date=July 25 | year=2005}}