About the Endangered Species Act
Key Points
The purpose of the ESA is to protect and recover imperiled species and the ecosystems upon which they depend.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) administer the ESA.
Learn about what is Included in the ESA, and download a copy
Purpose of the Endangered Species Act
When Congress passed the Endangered Species Act in 1973, it recognized that our rich natural heritage is of “esthetic, ecological, educational, recreational, and scientific value to our nation and its people.” It further expressed concern that many of our nation’s native plants and animals were in danger of becoming extinct.
The purpose of the ESA is to protect and recover imperiled species and the ecosystems upon which they depend. Under the ESA, species may be listed as either endangered or threatened. “Endangered” means a species is in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range. “Threatened” means a species is likely to become endangered within the foreseeable future. All species of plants and animals, except pest insects, are eligible for listing as endangered or threatened. For the purposes of the ESA, Congress defined species to include subspecies, varieties, and, for vertebrates, distinct population segments.
Throughout its history, the ESA has proven to be incredibly effective in stabilizing populations of species at risk, preventing the extinction of many others, and conserving the habitats upon which they depend. All Americans can take pride in the fact that, under the protection of the ESA, the California condor, grizzly bear, Okaloosa darter, whooping crane, and black-footed ferret have all been brought back from the brink of extinction. We can also celebrate that many other species no longer need the ESA's protection and have been removed from the list of endangered and threatened species, including the bald eagle—the very symbol of our nation's strength.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Role
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) administer the ESA. We collaborate with states, tribes, private landowners, non-governmental organizations, and other federal partners to achieve on-the-ground conservation for species and habitats around the country. It is only through our inclusive efforts with the conservation community that we can collectively protect our shared resources.Our primary responsibilities are for terrestrial and freshwater organisms, while the responsibilities of NMFS are mainly marine wildlife such as whales and anadromous fish such as salmon.
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As we work in partnership with others, our two major goals are to:
Based on these principles:
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The ESA provides a broad and flexible framework to facilitate conservation with a variety of stakeholders. We have many tools to help our agency work with, leverage, and expand our existing network of conservation partnerships to produce effective conservation practices and conservation strategies on-the-ground.
History
Congress passed the Endangered Species Preservation Act in 1966, providing a means for listing native animal species as endangered and giving them limited protection. The departments of Interior, Agriculture, and Defense were to seek to protect listed species, and, insofar as consistent with their primary purposes, preserve the habitats of such species. The Act also authorized the Service to acquire land as habitat for endangered species. In 1969, Congress amended the Act to provide additional protection to species in danger of "worldwide extinction" by prohibiting their importation and subsequent sale in the U.S. This Act called for an international meeting to adopt a convention to conserve endangered species. One amendment to the Act changed its title to the Endangered Species Conservation Act.
A 1973 conference in Washington, D.C. led 80 nations to sign the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which monitors, and in some cases, restricts international commerce in plant and animal species believed to be harmed by trade.
Later that year, Congress passed the Endangered Species Act (ESA), which:
- defined "endangered" and "threatened" [section 3];
- made plants and all invertebrates eligible for protection [section 3];
- applied broad "take" prohibitions to all endangered animal species and allowed the prohibitions to apply to threatened animal species by special regulation [section 9];
- required federal agencies to use their authorities to conserve listed species and consult on "may affect" actions [section 7];
- prohibited federal agencies from authorizing, funding, or carrying out any action that would jeopardize a listed species or destroy or modify its "critical habitat" [section 7];
- made matching funds available to states with cooperative agreements [section 6];
- provided funding authority for land acquisition for foreign species [section 8]; and
- implemented CITES protection in the U.S. [section 8].
Congress enacted significant amendments in 1978, 1982, and 1988, while keeping the overall framework of the ESA essentially unchanged. The funding levels in the present ESA were authorized through Fiscal Year 1992. Congress has annually appropriated funds since that time.
Download a Copy of the ESA
The Endangered Species Act establishes protections for fish, wildlife, and plants that are listed as threatened or endangered; provides for adding species to and removing them from the list of threatened and endangered species, and for preparing and implementing plans for their recovery; provides for interagency cooperation to avoid take of listed species and for issuing permits for otherwise prohibited activities; provides for cooperation with States, including authorization of financial assistance; and implements the provisions of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES).
Date Enacted
Dec 28, 1973
Citation
16 U.S.C. 1531-1544
