...Endangered Species Think back to the first time you went to the zoo. Do you remember the excitement you felt when you got your first glimpse of a tiger? Or maybe your favorite animal was an elephant. These species and many others are in danger of becoming extinct. I’m going to explain to you the process to get a species listed as endangered and the protective measures taken to help them recover. I’ll also talk about the success rate of these efforts. The first step to protecting a threatened species is to get them listed. The process to have a species added to the list can take up to a year. Species are listed by 2 classifications, threatened or endangered. A threatened species is a species that could become endangered in the near future without proper protection. An endangered species is a species that could become extinct. To start the process someone must first file a petition or conduct a survey of the species. Anyone can file a petition providing there is enough biological evidence to warrant further investigation. Members of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services or the National Marine Fisheries Service complete the surveys. Several factors help determine if a species is in need of protection. A few of those factors are: Changes in habitat, over utilization due to commercial and recreational purposes, disease or predation, and inadequate regulatory Laws. Within 90 days of receiving the petition or survey they must decide if further investigation is warranted. If it...
Words: 1737 - Pages: 7
...environmental law that I choose is Endangered Species Act. This Act was passed in 1973, to protect the extinction of or threatened species. Before I go any further let me define the difference between extinct and threatened species; • Extinction is the process by which a species die out, this means that all genetic buildup of that species is gone forever. Extinction can be the cause of Natural disaster, from human activities. • Threatened species are living organism that can become endangered in our nearby future. Endangered species represent the living species of plants and animals. That have become scarce, this means that they are in danger of becoming extinct. When an endangered species becomes extinct, this can interrupt the food chain or web. This will interrupts the production of new or improve medicine, we would loss that animal species forever because there is no genetic evidence left of that species. All this would be affected by the extinction of a species. The goal of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 1973 is to prevent extinction from happening. ESA was signed by President Nixon, The extinction of animals and plant species was brought about by Rachel Carson who wrote a book called Silent Spring (1962). Rachel warned about destroying wildlife with DDT in our environment. This is what prompted the enactment of the Endangered Species Preservation Act of (1966). This Act was made to protect nature species that were on the brink of extinction...
Words: 332 - Pages: 2
...natural defense to save itself. Since it had no natural predator it approached the humans without fear which made them easy prey. Because of its lack of natural defenses and the introduction of natural predators the Dodos population rapidly declined. Many Steps could have been taken in order to prevent the extinction of the Dodo Bird. The settlers could have tried to settle far enough so they could avoid interference with the Dodo Bird. Since much of the Dodos habitat was destroyed the settlers could have attempted to restore it to a near natural condition. Once the humans realized that the Dodos population was decreasing they could have tried to save it by raising them in captivate. Kemp Ridley The Kemp Ridley Turtle is the world’s most endangered sea turtle. It is 24-28 inches long and weighs 100 pounds. It has a grayish green circular shell with a pale yellow bottom shell. It eats crabs, fish, jellyfish, and mollusks. The Kemp Ridley is an "arribada" nester, which is where large groups gather and come ashore and nest all at once. It has a worldwide female nesting population of about 1,000 individuals. Kemp Ridley is located in the Gulf of Mexico and...
Words: 741 - Pages: 3
...Lindsey Lebrick Bio 104 Dr. Stelzer Endangered Species in Wisconsin In previous years, the environment was looked at as an infinite resource. People did not realize their actions had negative effects on the environment and the species it inhabited. Such negative effects was pollution, which harmed animals and their living areas more than thought possible. It wasn’t until after events started happening, that people realized the harm they were inflicting. There were and still are many endangered species from this, however organizations and laws are now involved in the stabilization of these animals and prevention techniques. There are several endangered species in Wisconsin, however the first I am going to talk about is the Lycaeides Melissa samuelis, otherwise known as the Karner blue butterfly. These butterflies are federally endangered in the USA, at eleven sites at Fort McCoy, Wisconsin (Guiney, Androw and Wilder). The samuelis butterflies, both male and female have a wingspan of about one inch, but vary in appearance. The topside of the male is a silvery dark blue with black marks. The female is a grayish brown, especially on the outer portions of the wings. The females are wings are blue on the top and have irregular bands of orange crescents inside the narrow brown boarder. The underside of both sexes is gray with a continuous band of orange crescents along the edges of both wings and with scattered black spots circled with white. The Karner blue butterfly usually...
Words: 1592 - Pages: 7
...Helmke Business Public Policy Endangered Species Act Extinctions have occurred throughout our planet's natural history. Some species develop as others die out, making space in the ecosystem for those best suited to any given habitat's natural conditions. Long before human beings arrived, fossil records show that populations of animals evolved, thrived, declined, and became extinct. However, the rate of extinctions in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries drastically increased to an estimated 100 to 1,000 times the normal expected rate of extinction. The majority of these accelerated extinctions can be directly traced to mankind's impact upon the natural environment in the form of hunting, fishing, agriculture, development, pollution, habitat encroachment, disease, and global climate change. Due to the increasing number of endangered species, as well as, species becoming extinct, the United States Congress decided to take action. 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”...
Words: 2547 - Pages: 11
...Poaching of Endangered Species “The main reason for animals endangered is the uncontrolled human activity.” This quote was stated on a website called Animal Port. There are many reasons why this statement is true, one of them are poaching. Poaching occurs out of greed to make money. Although there are several laws to protect certain animals, this is a horrible act to any animal. Especially for the animals that are already endangered. Poachers minimizing these animal’s numbers for their own pleasure is not good. People who are against poaching should do what they can to stop this act from escalating, or there will not be any balance on this world. Animals are being killed every day from illegal hunting or capturing, that is called poaching; it’s getting worse and worse in certain places and we should do whatever we can to try and stop it. Poaching happens all around the world. Mainly in parts of the world where there is more game to hunt and a lot of money involved. A social science graduate from Makerere University Kampala in Uganda named Peter Galyak Magellan said that humans have been hunting for survival for a long time now and not because of pleasure. He stated “While primitive humans relied largely upon hunting for food, the agricultural revolution (approximately 10,000 years ago) reduced the need for survival hunting in most parts of the world. Hunting has continued, however, for several reasons, and poaching remains a possibility wherever hunting is...
Words: 2264 - Pages: 10
...The Endangered Species Act The second half of the twentieth century was a time of the greatest advancements in environmental awareness in history. It was during this time that people began to realize there impact on the environment. People began to realize that something must be done to stop the negative impacts on their surroundings which caused the environmental movement to be born. One of the most important factors that resulted from this has been the protection of endangered species. Many actions have been taken to ensure the protection of endangered species including two major policies: CITES and the Endangered Species Act. In 1966, Congress passed the Endangered Species Preservation Act, this provided limited protection to a list of native animal species. The Departments of Agriculture, Interior and Defense were responsible for the protection of these species and the preservation of their habitats. This act also gave land to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to help maintain these natural habitats. The Endangered species act was amended in 1969 because more protection was needed. With the threat of worldwide extinction, the amendment called for an international meeting and changed the name to the Endangered Species Conservation Act. Several years later, in 1973, the United States and twenty-three other nations signed an international act called CITES or the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Flora and Fauna. CITES monitors...
Words: 1724 - Pages: 7
...1. An endangered species is one whose numbers are so small that it is at risk of extinction. 2. A threatened species is one that is vulnerable of becoming endangered in the near future. 3. In January 2013, the Fish and Wildlife Services reported 2,054 species worldwide that are endangered or threatened. 1,436 exist in the U.S. alone. 4. A species is declared extinct after many years of not being spotted. Because it takes so long to define an entire species as extinct, it is probable that there are many species already gone that we are unaware of. 5. A species is defined as endangered or threatened when it is compared against these five factors: * Damage to or destruction of its habitat * Overuse of the species for educational, recreational, or entertainment purposes * Disease or predation of the species * Lack of protection * Natural or manmade hazards to the continued life of the species 6. The Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA) protects registered endangered species by removing them from the “take” list, which makes it unlawful for a person to shoot, harm, capture, trap, or attempt any such actions to the species. 7. Ultimately, the ESA strives to recover species from the endangered list by restoring their ecological health until they no longer need protection. 8. Factors that threaten the earth’s creatures include deforestation, bycatch (the unintentional capturing of sea creatures during fishing), water scarcity...
Words: 375 - Pages: 2
...Endangered Species Biological diversity, or biodiversity for short, refers to the variety of life across all levels of biological organizations, including the diversity of species (Withgott & Laposata, 2012, p. 49). Biodiversity at all levels is being lost to human impact, irretrievably when species become extinct. Once vanished, a species can never return. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) Global Species Program along with the Species Survival Commission (SSC) and partners, such as the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA), assess the status of species on a global scale for the IUCN Red List in an effort to underline possible extinction, thereby encourage their conservation (IUCN, 2014). All assessments or reassessments for publication on the IUCN Red List must use categories, such as Endangered (EN) and criteria (e.g., Continuing decline in EOO, AOO, habitat, locations or subpopulations, or mature individuals and/or Extreme fluctuation in EOO, AOO, locations or subpopulations, or mature individuals) as adopted by the IUCN Council (IUCN, 2014). In 2012, the Atrichornis clamosus (also known as Noisy Scrub-bird, Western Scrubird) was uplisted to Endangered (EN) on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. In questioning why, large lighting-induced fires and other small-scale unexplained events further declined population size and habitat quality on the south coast of Western Australia . However, these species...
Words: 353 - Pages: 2
...are all melting. Our primary focus is on polar bears as they rely on masses of ice to rest after hunting for food. With the emergence of warmer climate, the areas of ice are diminishing leaving polar bears swimming for even longer until they drown from exhaustion. A federal regulation was passed in May of 2008 to protect the polar bear species from extinction by adding them to the endangered list. This should be a wake-up call to every individual living on the planet Earth as it is time to take responsibility for our actions and start making serious changes. Continued decrease of sea ice levels is expected in the future which affects the entire span of polar bears which reclassifies their status as threatened and endangered. The initial process began with a 12-Month Petition Finding and Proposed Rule during the year 2007. Polar bears are considered threatened with critical habitat under The Endangered Species Act of 1973. According to the Act: “Through Federal action and by encouraging the establishment of State programs, The Endangered Species Act of 1973 provided for the conservation of ecosystems upon which threatened and endangered species of fish, wildlife, and plants depend on.” (FWS, para. 1). Comments from the public were encouraged and were to be received by April 9, 2007,...
Words: 2559 - Pages: 11
...Endangered Species Act The Endangered Species Act is a federal law that protects endangered species and threatened species from becoming extinct (dying out).Some individuals may think the Endangered Species Act would not make a difference to today's current society. Should the Endangered Species Act still exists after 10 years ? Generally speaking, the endangered Species Act should still exists because it’s gonna have a huge impact later on for our future generations. One main reason for the endangerment of certain species is because of poachers. The main things poachers are mainly know for is hunting illegally and selling animals parts that are illegal to hunt. Poachers have also killed aproxximentky...
Words: 535 - Pages: 3
...“The Endangered Species Act is the strongest and most effective tool we have to repair the environmental harm that is causing a species to decline.”-Norm Dicks.More than 600 kinds of plants and 324 different animals in Missouri are of concern to conservationists because they are uncommon or their numbers are low or declining.Do you think that everyone in Missouri knows what is happening to many species of plants and animals because of the things we as humans are doing to them and their environment? The Endangered species Act is the most important federal law protecting imperiled wildlife and plants. For nearly 40 years, the ESA has helped prevent the extinction of our nation's wildlife treasures, including beloved American icons such as the...
Words: 760 - Pages: 4
...priceless and more worthy of preservation than the rich array of animal life with which our country has been blessed.” Said by Richard Nixon. The Endangered Species Act all started in 1973 when president Nixon signed it and made it into a law. It’s been a act for more than 40 years. Many people support and believe in this act, which is good because it helps the animals and helps the world as a whole. Although the Endangered Species Act can be costly, it has a very important impact on animals that are both extinct and endangered animals that need conservation. First off, some people may say that the act can be very costly at times. They believe that it can be too overfunded, and that’s not the case. While on the other hand...
Words: 1122 - Pages: 5
...The Endangered Species Act is a conservation act to preserve environments and animals in need. It was created in 1973 but what led up to it was the Act of 1966 and the amendment of 1969. Both of these acts were to limit poaching and help preserve the animals. Congress created the law backed by early conservationists like Dr. Train, Dr. Earl Baysinger Dick Gutting, and Dr. Gerard Then it was approved by clinton who helped start the biggest work to save animals. Endangered species are species that are close or in danger of becoming extinct. There are 7 levels to the endangered animals based on how close they are to being extinct. They use data on population levels, Ecosystems the animals live in and the rate an Organism's population is...
Words: 419 - Pages: 2
...“[B]y tomorrow morning we shall almost certainly have one less species on Planet Earth than we had this morning. It will not be a charismatic creature like the tiger. It could well be an obscure insect in the depths of some remote rainforest. It may even be a creature that nobody has ever heard of. But it will have gone. A unique form of life will have been driven from the face of the earth forever” (Meyers, 1979). The Endangered Species Act was enacted by congress in 1973. The act laid out five relevant findings. The first finding concerned economic growth and development. This development, which often occurred with little to no concern for conservation, has led various fish, wildlife, and plants to extinction. Second, there exists additional...
Words: 1987 - Pages: 8