Endangered Species Act
Listing Endangered Species
The United States Endangered Species Act of 1973 protects plant and animal species formally listed as threatened or endangered by the Secretary of Interior (terrestrial
and freshwater species and some marine species) or the Secretary of Commerce (other marine species). The Act calls for the listing of species to be based solely on
scientific data. As of August 1991, some 639 U.S. species and 528 foreign species were listed as threatened or endangered. The Fish and Wildlife Service also
maintains lists of some 600 "candidate" species for which enough information exists to warrant immediate protection under the Act and another 3000 candidate species
suspected to be in need of listing but for which insufficient information is available to make a determination.
Protecting Endangered Species
Once a species is listed, either the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) or the
National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) is required to develop recovery plans for the
species and designate "Critical Habitat." (To date, critical habitat has been designated for only 108 species.) The agencies also set priorities for the limited funds
available for species recovery based on the degree of threat, opportunity for recovery, and level of genetic diversity. The ESA states that economic impacts can be used
to modify the design of the recovery plan, including the designation of critical habitat.
Once a species is listed, Section 7 of the ESA directs federal agencies to consult with FWS or NMFS to insure that actions that they authorize, fund, or carry out do not
jeopardize the continued existence of any listed species or destroy critical habitat. Section 9 prohibits the "taking" (killing, harassing, or harming) of an endangered
species on either public or private land. Actions that significantly modify a species habitat can be considered a "harm" to the species, and thus a taking.
Related WRI Articles:
How and Why Biological Resources are Threatened
Losses of Biodiversity and their Causes
Species Extinctions: Causes and Consequences
Source: World Resource
Institute
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