In Florida, a manatee cruises over clear, warm spring water. In Yellowstone National Park, a grizzly bear snags a tasty trout. In Washington, D.C., a bald eagle hovers near the US Capitol.
These animals were among the first to be protected by the federal (or national) government in the United States, a little more than 50 years ago. All three species, which were once on the verge of extinction, have recovered thanks to the Endangered Species Act.
Native American people have lived alongside these animals for thousands of years. Although the people changed the animals’ environment—for example, they burned land for farming—they were usually careful not to hunt too many animals, making sure that the population numbers would remain healthy.
But European settlers arriving in the early 1800s had a different relationship to the land: They cut down forests to clear space for their houses and towns, and they hunted as many animals as they wanted for food, materials, and even sport.
By the end of the 1800s, Americans could see that some species were in big trouble: Due to overhunting, the American bison population went from about 30 million to just a few hundred in less than a century. The passenger pigeon, once the most abundant bird in North America—numbering in the billions—disappeared from the skies in just a few decades because so many people hunted them for sport.
These animals motivated Congress to pass the first federal wildlife-protection law in 1900 called the Lacey Act, which made it a crime to buy or sell animals that were illegally hunted. But the protection was too late for the passenger pigeon, which went extinct in 1914.
In the next few decades, Congress passed more legislation to try to protect animals, but many populations continued to decline.
In 1966, Congress signed the Endangered Species Preservation Act, which set aside land and water for conservation of dwindling fish and wildlife populations. But this act didn’t include any rules on how to protect these species, so three years later, Congress renamed the act to the Endangered Species Conservation Act and expanded it to create hunting restrictions. It also included protections for endangered species that live outside of the United States.
Then, in 1969, an oil rig off the coast of California blew up, resulting in the worst oil disaster in US history. It spilled three million gallons of oil into the sea, slickened the beaches, and killed thousands of animals. Then it was revealed that the corporation had been granted special authorization by the government to ignore safety laws. The spill could have been avoided if it hadn't.
Americans were dissatisfied, and President Richard Nixon realised things needed to change as he went along the black-streaked beach. In 1970, he established the Environmental Protection Agency, and in 1973, he lobbied Congress to approve the Endangered Species Act.
The act defined what it meant to be an endangered or threatened species, for the first time protecting plants and invertebrates, restricting hunting of any animals on the list, and providing cash to help rescue the species. Most critically, it safeguards the environments on which these plants and animals rely for survival.
When Nixon unveiled the legislation, he declared, "Nothing is more priceless and worthy of preservation than the wonderful array of animal life with which our country has been blessed." 78 animal species were added to the list and given protection under the Endangered Species Act in the first year.
To estimate the population of each species, scientists count the number of individuals in as many locations as feasible around the globe. Then they look at the habitat's condition, how people use the species, whether it's disease-affected, and other criteria to see if it's likely to go extinct in the wild. A species is deemed threatened if scientists have evidence that it will become endangered in the near future. Once a species is listed, it is illegal to catch, hunt, shoot, or hurt it without a permit under the law.
The endangered species list is managed by two federal agencies: the US Fish and Wildlife Service is in charge of land and freshwater species, while the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is in charge of marine species.
When a species is added to the endangered species list, these teams look into why it is endangered in the first place. Habitat destruction, sickness, and abuse of animals for human reasons, such as overfishing, are the most common causes. Once the major issue has been identified, the team can devise the best strategy for assisting the species. (If it's a foreign species, the government may impose restrictions on its sale or components in the United States.)
The species goes through three steps after being added to the list. First, scientists must lessen or eliminate the primary threat to the species, which might include reducing the number of trees cut down or prohibiting the use of particular herbicides on farms. The recovery teams will next closely monitor the population, with the possibility of reproducing the animal to assist raise numbers. The species is removed from the list if it is determined that it is no longer endangered due to population size, habitat stability, and threat reduction—success!
American alligators, Channel Island foxes, peregrine falcons, and bald eagles were among the species that went through this process successfully. However, rescuing species isn't easy or quick: only 1% of the species on the list have been removed, and a study indicated that it takes an average of 25 years for a species to recover.
