Transcript The Endangered Species act

 Name 3 endangered species?
 What is a vector, in relation to invasive species? Give
an example.
 How would you classify a species as being endangered
and what should be done to protect these species?
What is the Endangered Species Act?
 A National law passed in 1973 that protects species
that are in danger of extinction.
 Species considered at risk of extinction are classified as
either endangered, threatened, or candidate species.
 Endangered- a species in
immediate jeopardy of
survival and reproduction.
 Threatened- a species
likely to become
endangered.
 Candidate Species- a
species not on the ESA list,
but still might need
protection
Do you want to face Joe Pa if the
mountain lion goes extinct?
What is the goal of the ESA once a species is
listed?
 To boast populations to
a self-sustaining level.
 What does that mean?
 In order to achieve the
goal each species must
have a recovery plan
that determines what it
needs to be delisted.
 The best way to protect a species is usually through
protecting habitat vital to its existence known as
Critical Habitat (Determined by Dept. of Interior)
 Once a species is listed, no branch of government can
proceed with a project that might harm the organism.
 Status of a species is review by the National
Marine Fisheries Service and the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service.
 Examples of species under ESA:
 California condor, Florida panther, gray wolf,
manatee
 Some animals are in captive breeding programs
(animals breed in a human protected
environments to increase the population)
 California condor, black footed ferret.
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_MbT3c-MhU
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWVdJPF-r3c
 Read the passage
individually.
 With a partner answer the
following questions on the
back of the worksheet. You
each need to write your
own answers, but you may
confer with your partner if
you wish.
 Make sure to answer the
questions fully!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rD
Xs3bjX7Dw
David Etnier

Mr. President, I hope this is the last time around. I hope we can resolve this issue
once and for all, and I hope reason will finally prevail. . . .

Mr. President, the awful beast is back. The Tennessee snail darter, the bane of my
existence, the nemesis of my golden years, the bold perverter of the Endangered
Species Act is back.

He is still insisting that the Tellico Dam on the Little Tennessee River, a dam that is
now 99% complete, be destroyed.

In the midst of a national energy crisis, the snail darter demands that we scuttle a
project that would produce 200 million kilowatt hours of hydroelectric power and
save an estimated 15 million gallons of oil.

Although other residences have been found in which he can thrive serenely, the snail
darter stubbornly insists on keeping this particular stretch of the Little Tennessee
River as his principal domicile. ...

Let me stress again, Mr. President, that this is fine with me. I have nothing personal
against the snail darter. He seems to be quite a nice little fish, as fish go.

Now seriously Mr. President, the snail darter has become an unfortunate example of
environmental extremism, and this kind of extremism, if rewarded and allowed to
persist, will spell the doom to the environmental protection movement in this
country more surely and more quickly than anything else. ...

We who voted for the Endangered Species Act with the honest intentions of
protecting such glories of nature as the wolf, the eagle, and other treasures have
found that extremists with wholly different motives are using this noble act for
meanly obstructive ends. ...
Snail Darter Relocated
The fish was found to be living in other streams
Delisted from ESA in 1980s...Doing Fine
Fish is happy, workers are happy, but people still lost
their homes 
 The 1978 amendment to the ESA "attempts to retain the basic integrity of the ESA, while
introducing some flexibility which will permit exemptions from the Act's stringent
requirements.“
 The most important change that was brought about by the 1978 amendment was the
creation of the Endangered Species Committee, known as the "God Squad" because of the
substantial impact of its decisions on the natural world.
 The God Squad is a committee composed of seven Cabinet-level members: The
administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, the administrator of National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the chairman of the Council of Economic
Advisers, a representative from the state in question, the Secretary of Agriculture, the
Secretary of the Army, and the Secretary of the Interior.
 This committee has the authority to allow the exemption by exempting a federal agency
from Section 7 requirements.
 To exempt a species, five of the seven members must vote in favor of the exemption. The
following conditions must be met for a species to be considered for exemption:
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There must be no reasonable alternative to the agencies action
The benefits of the action must outweigh the benefits of an alternative action where the species is
conserved
The action is of regional or national importance
Neither the federal agency or the exemption applicant made irreversible commitment to the resources.
Also, mitigation efforts must be taken to reduce the negative effects on the endangered species.
 Under ESA, a project may not take
place that can harm a protected
organism or its critical habitat;
however, many federal projects are
allowed to continue.
 Snail Darter and Tellico Dam (pg 73)
 Desert Tortoise pg. 80
 ESA is a powerful land law which has
been abused to stop unwanted
development.
 ESA does require a balancing of
species protection with economic
development.
1983-"minimize and mitigate" the impact of the permitted
take on the listed species.
The principle is that some individuals of a species or
portions of their habitat may be expendable over the short
term, as long as enough protection is provided to ensure the
long term recovery of the species.
Allows for Incidental Take, which is a certain number of the
animal may be taken if otherwise lawful activities are
occurring
•Over 1200 species protected by the ESA
•9 species listed have gone extinct.
•15 on the list have completely recovered.
•Bald Eagle, American Alligator,
Peregrine Falcon
•256 candidate species waiting to be listed
due to lack of time and money (there may
be many more out there)
•34 went extinct during the 80’s waiting to
be listed
1. Law has been abused for other agendas*
2. Some species receive all the attention and money
Cal. Condor - $25 mil
Spotted Owl – 16.8 mil.
3. Some say that we should focus on ecosystems
instead of species.
 1) Loss of Habitat (main cause) - as the human population grows,
there is less habitat for all other species.
 2) Human exploitation - hunting, trapping, etc.
 Example: wolf, ocelot.
 Poaching - illegal hunting, is a problem in other countries (lions, tigers,
elephants)
 3) Introduced species
A) Out compete for space and resources
B) Overgrazing by livestock
C) Disease carried by other organisms
*** Extinction is a natural process but greatly accelerated by humans.