Endangered
Species
Act Fact Sheet
www.WorldAnimalFoundation.com
The United States Congress passed the Endangered Species Act into law in 1973. This act creates a program for the protection of endangered animals and their habitats. The US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) maintains a list of the 632 plant and animal species that are currently considered endangered. A sampling of such animals includes the:
Grizzly bear
Black-footed ferret
Jaguar
Alabama beach mouse
Southern sea otter
Bighorn sheep
Blue whale
Gray wolf
California condor
Mississippi sandhill crane
Hawaiian Crow
Kauai cave wolf spider
Spruce-fir moss spider
Tooth cave pseudoscorpion
A complete listing of the species considered endangered under federal law can be found at: http://endangered.fws.gov/
Any person or party can petition the FWS to include a threatened species on the endangered species list. Several species have been given protection by the Endangered Species Act as a result of lawsuits and petitions on behalf of animals.
The FWS enforces the Endangered Species Act. The act disallows the hunting or taking of any endangered species. It also prohibits the destruction of habitat inhabited by endangered species. Any action that adversely affects an endangered plant or animal's habitat is also outlawed. Under the act, any national or international trade in endangered species is against the law.
Other government agencies, such as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), also bear responsibility for monitoring the fate of endangered species. For instance, the EPA may prohibit the use of a pesticide that adversely affects the habitat of an endangered species.
If the population of an animal or plant shows enough improvement, FWS authorities may remove it from the list of endangered species. The Endangered Species Act has some success stories, including the reemergence of bald eagle populations, once nearly eradicated by hunting and DDT poisoning.
You can find out more information on the Endangered Species Act by visiting the website of the Fish and Wildlife Service at www.fws.gov.
You may also want to visit the websites of certain environmentalist organizations that run campaigns related to the Endangered Species Act. Visit the Sierra Club at http://www.sierraclub.org/
