THE ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT (ESA)

Draft Year: 1973Amendment Years: 1982, 1985, 1988National (in conjunction with International Treaties) Regulated by the ESA

Endangered species act: history

• Endangered Species Preservation Act in 1966– means for listing native animal species as

endangered and giving them limited protection– The Act also authorized the U. S. Fish and Wildlife

Service to acquire land as habitat for endangered species

– In 1969, Congress amended the Act to provide additional protection to species in danger of “worldwide extinction” by prohibiting their importation and subsequent sale in the United States

Endangered Species Act of 1973

• defined “endangered” and “threatened” • plants and all invertebrates eligible for protection ;• applied broad “take” prohibitions to all endangered animal

species and allowed the prohibitions to apply to threatened animal species by special regulation;

• required Federal agencies to use their authorities to conserve listed species and consult on “may affect” actions;

• prohibited Federal agencies from authorizing, funding, or carrying out any action that would jeopardize a listed species or destroy or modify its “critical habitat” ;

• Implemented CITES protection in the United States.

Obama Restores Scientific Consultation to Endangered Species Act (3 March 2009)

"Today, I've signed a memorandum that will help restore the scientific process to its rightful place at the heart of the Endangered Species Act, a process undermined by past administrations," Obama said to applause.

"The work of scientists and experts in my administration, including right here in the Interior Department, will be respected," he said. "For more than three decades, the Endangered Species Act has successfully protected our nation's most threatened wildlife, and we should be looking for ways to improve it - not weaken it.…... With smart, sustainable policies, we can grow our economy today and preserve the environment for ourselves, our children, and our grandchildren," said Obama. "That is what we must do."

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, left, and President Barack Obama mark the 160th anniversary of the Department of the Interior. (Photo courtesy DOI)

CITES, Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species

1. Created at Convention of 80 countries in Washington DC in 1973.2. one of the largest conservation agreements in existence3. Participation is voluntary4. As of 21 April 2009, 175 States had become Parties to the

Convention5. Party: Countries that sign the Convention by ratifying, accepting

or approving it.

6. works by subjecting international trade in specimens of listed species to certain controls

7. Roughly 5,000 species of animals and 28,000 species of plants are protected by CITES against over-exploitation through international trade