Transcript Endangered Species Act of 1973, 1982, 1985, and 1988

Endangered Species Act of 1973,
1982, 1985, and 1988
By: Nicole Wypychowski
Period 6
• President Nixon signed the bill
December 28, 1973
• ESA is administered by two federal
agencies: United States Fish and
Wildlife Service (FWS) and the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA).
-NOAA handles marine species,
and the FWS has responsibility
over freshwater fish and all
other species.
• ESA was designed to protect critically imperiled species from
extinction as a "consequence of economic growth and development”
• ESA's primary goal = prevention of the extinction of imperiled plant
and animals and to recover and maintain those populations by
removing threats to their survival
• To be considered for endangered or threatened listing on ESA, the
species must meet one of five criteria:
1. There is the present or threatened destruction of its habitat.
2. An over utilization for commercial, recreational, scientific, or
educational purposes.
3. The species is declining due to disease or predation.
4. There is an inadequacy of existing regulatory mechanisms.
5. There are other natural or manmade factors affecting its
continued existence.
Endangered Species Act Amendments
• 1982 Amendment- Status of species were required to be made solely
on the basis of biological information without any consideration of
possible economic effects
• 1985 Amendment- The Secretary must take steps to implement the
Western Convention: developing personnel resources and programs,
identifying species, habitats and cooperative measures to ensure that
species of migrating birds will not become threatened, and identifying
measures for the protection of wild plants.
• 1988 Amendment- States that: Monitoring of candidate and recovered
species was required, recovery plans will undergo public notice and
review, requires five years of monitoring of species that have
recovered, protection for endangered plants was extended to include
destruction on federal land and other taking when it violates state law,
and reports are required on the development and implementation of
recovery plans and on the status of all species with plans.