Video: 'The Endangered Species Act: 40 Years at the Forefront of Wildlife Conservation'

(Friday, December 28, 1973) — The Endangered Species Act of 1973, designed to protect critically imperiled species from extinction as a “consequence of economic growth and development untempered by adequate concern and conservation,” was signed into law today by U.S. President Richard Nixon.

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.

Video: 'Endangered Species Act'

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).

The Act is administered by two federal agencies, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS).

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.