Nixon Signed the Endangered Species Act 45 Years Ago On This Date

On December 28, 1973, President Richard Nixon signed the Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 1973 into law. The bill’s primary goal was to prevent the extinction of plant and animal life, including many native species by eliminating or lessening threats to their survival.

Why did it come up?

Conservation efforts began to grow beginning in the early 1900s in response to the bison population’s near-extinction and the Passenger Pigeon’s disappearance initially drove the call for wildlife conservation. Habitat losses worsened as communities and farmland expanded, while the widespread use of pesticides and introduction of non-native species posed new threats to endangered wildlife.

In 1972, President Richard Nixon proposed a law that would make it a federal crime to kill an endangered animal (no penalties for that offense existed then) and would create protections for species before they got “so depleted that regeneration is difficult or impossible.”

This legislation was written in large part by a team of lawyers and scientists that included the first head of the White House Office of Environmental Quality, Russell Train. Congress negotiated over it for nearly a year, ironing out the differences between a stronger House bill and a weaker Senate version. Eventually it was passed 92-0 in the Senate and 390-12 in the House.

Rep. John Dingell (D-MI), who was one of the authors of the bill, played an important role in its passage. Don Barry, a conservation lawyer who worked for the Fish and Wildlife Service as chief counsel during the 1970s, said, “Without John Dingell, we wouldn’t have the ESA.”

What did it do?

Through federal action and by encouraging the establishment of state programs, the ESA provides for the conservation of ecosystems that threatened and endangered fish, wildlife, and plants depend on. It specifically:

• Authorizes the determination and listing of species as endangered and threatened;
• Prohibits unauthorized taking, possession, sale, and transport of endangered species;
• provides authority to acquire land for the conservation of listed species, using land and water conservation funds;
• Authorizes establishment of cooperative agreements and grants-in-aid to States that establish and maintain active and adequate programs for endangered and threatened wildlife and plants;
• Authorizes the assessment of civil and criminal penalties for violating the Act or regulations; and
• Authorizes the payment of rewards to anyone furnishing information leading to arrest and conviction for any violation of the Act or any regulation issued thereunder.

Section 7 of the ESA also requires federal agencies to ensure that any action they authorize, fund, or carry out isn’t likely to jeopardize the continued existence of listed species or modify their critical habitat.

In a signing statement for the bill, Nixon said:

“Nothing is more priceless and more worthy of preservation than the rich array of animal life with which our country has been blessed. It is a many-faceted treasure, of value to scholars, scientists, and nature lovers alike, and it forms a vital part of the heritage we all share as Americans. I congratulate the 93d Congress for taking this important step toward protecting a heritage which we hold in trust to countless future generations of our fellow citizens. Their lives will be richer, and America will be more beautiful in the years ahead, thanks to the measure that I have the pleasure of signing into law today.”

What has its impact been?

Since 1973, the ESA has been modified multiple times. Most notably, a 1978 amendment obliged the federal government to consider the economic impact of designating critical habitat, and to review the endangered and threatened species list every five years.

The lead federal agencies in charge of implementing the ESA are the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries Service. The FWS maintains the worldwide endangered species list.

Additionally, the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) implements key portions of the ESA. OPP regulates the use of all pesticides in the U.S. and establishes maximum levels for pesticide residues in food, thereby safeguarding America’s food supply.

Since its enactment, the ESA’s broad mandate that vast stretches of habitat require protection in order to preserve the creatures living in them has produced cascading benefits for ecosystems in the Pacific Northwest, the Everglades, the Chesapeake Bay, Shenandoah National Park, and along the New England coast and saved over 200 species from extinction. Scientists have concluded that with the ESA, 227 would’ve gone extinct from 1973-2005.

Since 1973, over 1,600 animal and plant species have been declared endangered or threatened, and researchers say the majority are headed toward recovery because of the ESA.

The American Farm Bureau (AFB) is strongly opposed to the ESA, which it says disproportionately hurts farmers and ranchers:

“The ESA is one of the most far-reaching environmental statutes ever passed. It has been interpreted to put the interests of species above those of people, and through its prohibitions against “taking” of species, it can restrict a wide range of human activity in areas where species exist or may possibly exist. Furthermore, it allows private special interest groups to sue anyone who they allege to be in violation of the Act. Currently, sue-and-settle tactics employed by radical environmental groups have required the government to make listing decisions on hundreds of new species. These plaintiffs have been rewarded for their efforts by taxpayer funded reimbursements for their legal bills. We believe that farmers and ranchers will respond to incentives to protect species and habitat on their privately owned lands. Instead of being forced to feed and shelter listed species on their own, farmers and ranchers should receive technical and financial help to accomplish this.”

— Lorelei Yang

(Photo Credit: iStockphoto.com / pchoui)