Chapter Two…What is an “endangered species”, and what is the “
Endangered
Species Act
”?
In Chapter One, the topic was, “What is CITES?” In that summary, it was explained that CITES deals with
“endangered species”. So what is an endangered species? That question may be best answered in this
context by a very brief overview of the
Endangered Species Act (ESA)
, passed by Congress in 1973:
[excerpted from the official U.S. Fish & Wildlife website…
The purpose of the ESA is to protect and recover imperiled species and the ecosystems upon which they
depend. The Interior Department’s U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the Commerce Department’s
National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) administer the ESA. The FWS has primary responsibility for
terrestrial and freshwater organisms, while the responsibilities of NMFS are mainly marine wildlife such as
whales and anadromous fish such as salmon.
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.
As of March 2011, the FWS has listed 1,967 species worldwide as endangered or threatened, of which 1,372
occur in the United States.
How are Species Listed?
Section 4 of the ESA requires species to be listed as endangered or threatened solely on the basis of their
biological status and threats to their existence. When evaluating a species for listing, the FWS considers five
factors: 1) damage to, or destruction of, a species’ habitat; 2) overutilization of the species for commercial,
recreational, scientific, or educational purposes; 3) disease or predation; 4) inadequacy of existing protection;
and 5) other natural or manmade factors that affect the continued existence of the species. When one or more of
these factors imperils the survival of a species, the FWS takes action to protect it. The Fish and Wildlife Service
is required to base its listing decisions on the best scientific information available.
Y
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EED
T
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NOW!
Welcome back to the “Need To Know” column...as in,
yes, we each really do need to know this information.
As explained when this column was first introduced (call
it “Chapter One”), in the May, 2011, issue of
Oklahoma
Safari Trails
, I’ll try here to present clear and simplified
summaries or explanations relating to terms we often
hear but may not really clearly understand…and I intend
to focus on things we need to know so that all our
hunting-related activities are conducted legally.
Mike Mistelske
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