The Endangered Species Act

The United States’ most significant law for endangered animals is the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The ESA was enacted by the U.S. congress in 1973 to protect endangered and threatened animal and plant species. There are currently 2,162 national and foreign animal and plant species listed by the ESA (NWF, 2014).  It contributes to species recovery by making it illegal to import, export, take, possess, sell, or transport any endangered or threatened species. In addition, ESA defines the species’ habitat that is essential for its survival as a critical habitat and protects the land.

The Fish and Wildlife Service oversee the ESA. According to the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) ( n.d.), a species is listed as endangered or threatened if research demonstrates it meets one or more of the following criteria:

• A large percentage of the species’ critical habitat has been degraded or destroyed.
• The species has been over-consumed by commercial, recreational, scientific or educational uses.
• The species is threatened by disease or predation.
• Current regulations or legislations ineffectively protect the species.
• Other manmade factors threaten the long-term survival of the species.

The Endangered Species Act has saved hundreds of species from extinction. “Of the more than 1,400 plants and animals placed under the care of the Act over the past four decades, 99 percent have been saved from extinction” (Greenwald, 2013), including the bald eagle, Florida panther, and gray wolf. Yet, numerous threatened species on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List, the leading global endangered species list, are not protected under the ESA. A study comparing the animals listed by IUCN and the ESA found that of the American species included on the IUCN Red List, 40.3% of birds, 50% of mammals, 80% of amphibians, and 88.5-95.2% of invertebrates were not recognized by the ESA (Harris et al., 2012). This large discrepancy could be due to the U.S. system’s failure to keep up with global listing assessments of threatened species and that there is a difference in criteria between the two systems. Risk prioritization and outside pressure seems to be important for species to be listed on the ESA. Harris et al (2012) states that “Petitions and/or lawsuits were involved with 71% of listings from 1974–2003 and have become even more important in recent years (Greenwald et al. 2006).” The IUCN differs from the ESA in that is doesn’t provide any protection for the species, it is merely a list of all the endangered and threatened species. “The ESA, however, legally protects species, so adding a species bears significant cost and responsibility to the agencies” (Harris et al., 2012). Additionally, the ESA can be affected by politics as listing species can have great economic consequences.

The ESA is an important law that has saved hundreds of animals from extinction. However, with the large gap of American species classified by the ESA and the IUCN, the ESA needs some improvements so imperiled species can have the protection it needs to survive. After all, it was President Nixon who said upon signing the ESA, "Nothing is more priceless and more worthy of preservation than the rich array of animal life with which our country has been blessed."

 

 

References

Endangered Species Act - National Wildlife Federation. (n.d.). Retrieved June 27, 2014, from http://www.nwf.org/Wildlife/Wildlife-Conservation/Endangered-Species-Act.aspx

Fish and Wildlife Services (2014). Summary of Listed Species Listed Populations and Recovery Plans. Retrieved from http://ecos.fws.gov/tess_public/pub/Boxscore.do

Greenwald, Noah. (2013) Media Guide: 40 Years of the Endangered Species Act — Facts, Stats, Stories and Photos. Retrieved from http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/news/press_releases/2013/endangered-species-act-05-31-2013.html

Harris, J. B. C., Reid, J. L., Scheffers, B. R., Wanger, T. C., Sodhi, N. S., Fordham, D. A., & Brook, B. W. (2012). Conserving imperiled species: a comparison of the IUCN Red List and U.S. Endangered Species Act: ESA’s coverage of IUCN-listed species. Conservation Letters, 5(1), 64–72. doi:10.1111/j.1755-263X.2011.00205.x