Endangered Species Act of 1973

Endangered Species Act of 1973
Great Seal of the United States
Other short titlesEndangered Species Act of 1973
Long titleAn Act to provide for the conservation of endangered and threatened species of fish, wildlife, and plants, and for other purposes.
Acronyms (colloquial)ESA
NicknamesEndangered Species Conservation Act
Enacted bythe 93rd United States Congress
EffectiveDecember 27, 1973
Citations
Public law93–205
Statutes at Large87 Stat. 884
Codification
Titles amended16 U.S.C.: Conservation
U.S.C. sections created16 U.S.C. ch. 35 §§ 1531-1544.
Legislative history
Major amendments
United States Supreme Court cases

The Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA or "The Act"; 16 U.S.C. § 1531 et seq.) is the primary law in the United States for protecting and conserving imperiled species. Designed to protect critically imperiled species from extinction as a "consequence of economic growth and development untempered by adequate concern and conservation", the ESA was signed into law by President Richard Nixon on December 28, 1973. The Supreme Court of the United States described it as "the most comprehensive legislation for the preservation of endangered species enacted by any nation".[1] The purposes of the ESA are two-fold: to prevent extinction and to recover species to the point where the law's protections are not needed. It therefore "protect[s] species and the ecosystems upon which they depend" through different mechanisms. For example, section 4 requires the agencies overseeing the Act to designate imperiled species as threatened or endangered. Section 9 prohibits unlawful ‘take,’ of such species, which means to "harass, harm, hunt..." Section 7 directs federal agencies to use their authorities to help conserve listed species. The Act also serves as the enacting legislation to carry out the provisions outlined in The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).[2] The Supreme Court found that "the plain intent of Congress in enacting" the ESA "was to halt and reverse the trend toward species extinction, whatever the cost."[1] The Act is administered by two federal agencies, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS).[3] FWS and NMFS have been delegated by the Act with the authority to promulgate any rules and guidelines within the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) to implement its provisions.

  1. ^ a b "Tennessee Valley Authority v. Hill", 437 U.S. 153 (1978) Retrieved 24 November 2015. Public Domain This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Government.
  2. ^ U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. "International Affairs: CITES" Retrieved on 29 January 2020.Public Domain This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.
  3. ^ Summary of the Endangered Species Act | Laws & Regulations | US EPA