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Endangered Species Act of 1973

1. Problem Identification and Agenda Setting:
The Endangered Species Act of 1973 was created because of two particular problems.
The first problem is that animals and plants are constantly facing an increasing threat of
extinction. Before humans were formed on the earth, animals and plants evolved, thrived,
declined, and became extinct at stable rates, meaning that their populations changed fairly slowly
over time without the change resulting in massive disappearances. However, in America, since
the time of Americas founding, many animals and plants faced an increasing threat of extinction
due largely to the activities of hunting, fishing, agriculture, development, and disease. While
there were laws that protected specific animals, it was not until the dawning of the American
environmental movement in the 1960s that a comprehensive national policy on wildlife
species was enacted (encyclopedia.com/doc). The second problem was that before the
Endangered Species Act, many American laws relating to animal and plant species were
inadequate (presidency.ucsb.edu). For example, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act with Canada of
1918 and the Bald Eagle Protection Act of 1940 protected only specific animal species, like birds
(encyclopedia.com/doc).
2. Policy Formulation and Policy Adoption:
The growing public interest in the environment in the 1960s and the 1970s led to
increased congressional action, which also led to the Endangered Species Act of 1973. The Act
originated from debates regarding federal and state regulatory authority and the types of
species needing protection and concerns about issues like the geographical extent of
prohibitions (encyclopedia.com/doc). The person who introduced the bill was Representative
John Dingell, and during the debates, he insisted that all flora and fauna be included in the bill
(encyclopedia.com/doc). While the bill was examined in Congress, the Senate and the House
worked on different versions of the bill until the bill was ultimately passed for the president to
read. The bill that became the Endangered Species Act was signed on December 28, 1973 by
President Richard Nixon (encyclopedia.com/doc).
3. Policy Implementation:
The Endangered Species Act is designed to conserve endangered and threatened wildlife
and plants and to protect the surroundings where these animals and plants reside. In general, the
Act affects every living thing on this earth because humans rely on animals and plants, including
insects, for food and to keep the quality of the earth flowing undisturbed. In any case, through
its jurisdiction, two particular agencies, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National
Marine Fisheries Service who are responsible for overseeing the Act, are to compose a list of
species that are considered threatened (encyclopedia.com). Another option to the listing of
wildlife is that an interested party can submit a petition to have a species considered for listing
(encyclopedia.com). Either way, the agencies and the interested parties must have significant
evidence on the threatened status of a wildlife species. After a species is listed, the government
prohibits unauthorized taking, possession, and sale of these species, and the government can
also acquire land for the conservation of listed species, using land and conservation funds
(fws.gov/laws). This acquisition also lowers human interference of the protected plants and
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animals. Furthermore the Secretary of the Interior has to develop a recovery plan for these
animals and plants (encyclopedia.com). Any violations to the Act will result in penalties of up
to one year in prison and $50,000 in fines (encyclopedia.com). On the other hand, emergency
regulations can also be implemented for an animal or plant. In such a case, the Secretary of the
Interior can skip the listing procedure and create regulations that will take effect immediately
upon publication in the Federal Register (encyclopedia.com). With these regulations, the
government will take immediate action on protecting the concerned species.
4. Policy Evaluation:
The Endangered Species Act has faced some studies regarding its effectiveness.
According to a science reporter, environmental economist Donal McCarthy estimates that it
could cost the United States $76 billion annually to establish and maintain a comprehensive
global network of protected areas; he also claims that this amount is a fraction of what
consumers spend on soft drinks (bbc.co.uk). Furthermore, an analysis of the Endangered
Species Act reveals that species that are endangered show less recovery than threatened
species (Taylor, Suckling, and Rachlinski). However, some organizations reveal that the Act is
effective in protecting at least some of the listed species. For example, the National Wildlife
Federation says that because of the Act, the bald eagle has increased to more than 7,000
breeding pairs today and that more than 2,500 wolves reside in Minnesota under the Acts
protection (nwf.org).
On the other hand, the Act has been amended four times since its passage by the
president. Under the 1978 amendment, in section 4 of the Act, a critical habitat was required to
be designated concurrently with listing a species (fws.gov/endangered/laws-policies/esa-1978).
Under the 1982 amendment, the status of species is to be based solely on biological and trade
information (fws.gov/endangered/laws-policies/esa-1982). Under the 1988 amendment, the
government is to monitor candidate and recovered species (fws.gov/endangered/lawspolicies/esa-1988). Finally, under the 2004 amendment, the Department of Defense is exempted
from critical habitat designations (fws.gov/endangered/laws-policies/esa-2004).
5. References and Further Information:
http://www.hawaii247.com/2013/11/08/endangered-species-act-protection-for-15-isle-species/
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2012/oct/11/cost-save-threatened-species
http://www.questia.com/library/1G1-63184553/enforcing-the-law-for-endangeredspecies
http://www.natureserve.org/explorer/statusus.htm
https://worldwildlife.org/species/directory?direction=desc&sort=extinction_status

6. Policy Conclusion:
In my opinion, the Endangered Species Act of 1973 is an excellent piece of legislation,
although it is not perfect in its tasks. Without this Act, the United States would have seen the
extinction of many animals and plants that were not overseen by previous laws before the Act
was passed. Today, we are more effective in protecting endangered species. However, even
though we are living in an economic crisis, I believe that America is not placing its best efforts to
protect listed species, and that the Act is not strict enough in getting the United States to invest
more resources in some of the most endangered species. I think that it is essential for the United
States to place a full effort to protect and restore Earths species. We are living in a critical time
where there are many road constructions and even constructions of road bridges as well as
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constructions of more houses and buildings for more populations of humans. This factor can
threaten the health and existences of many species if there are no restrictions or permit
requirements for such constructions. We are also advancing more technologically than before the
year 2000, so we must use our technologies to forward the welfare of threatened species. A final
threat to animal and plant species that I would like to point out is that our population is
expanding rapidly; this can cause the slaughter of more animals just for food and less room for
animals and plants to populate the Earth. I think that the U.S. government should place certain
restrictions on the amount of immigrants allowed into our country. This would be good for the
welfare of animals and plants because it would reduce the amount of house constructions being
made.

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N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2013. http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=3731
McGrath, Matt. "Scientists Say Billions Required to Meet Conservation Targets." BBC News.
BBC, 10 Dec. 2012. Web. 17 Nov. 2013. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment19912266