Endangered Species Act
Existing Policy
Photo by LeFion
Overview
On October 15, 1966, the Endangered Species Preservation Act (P.L. 89-669) was signed into law. The Act provides for the listing of native threatened and endangered species by the Secretary of the Interior.
Take Action Now: Ask Congress to Urge Taiwan to Protect the Critically Endangered Taiwanese White Dolphin Take Action Now: Speak up for Red Wolves!In 1969, additional protection for endangered species is granted with the enactment of the Endangered Species Conservation Act of 1969.
In 1973, the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (P.L. 93-522) is adopted to enhance US action to defend endangered species.
The Act categorizes species as either threatened or endangered. “Threatened” species, under the ESA, are species that are likely to become endangered, and “endangered” species are those that are “in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of” their range. It is illegal to “harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect” a species listed under the Act. Over 1,700 threatened and endangered animals and plants in the US and other countries of the world receive the ESA’s protection.
The Act creates a process for adding species to and removing them from the list of threatened and endangered species, and it implements the provisions of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), among other things.
In 1981, the Endangered Species Act is reauthorized by the US Congress after a vigorous battle with special interest groups who tried unsuccessfully, for the most part, to weaken it.
Find out more about endangered species.
Endangered Animals
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