Endangered Species Act Listing and Conservation

Status

By: Emily Bowman

Cactus Ferrug

Siberian Tiger

Saw Fish

Bald Eagle

ListingThe Endangered Species Act or ESA will only

protecta species that is officially listed as endangered orthreatened. There are two possible ways that aspecies can be listed:• If the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) or

National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries take the initiative and list the species.

• By a person or organization if they create a petition that prompts either FWS or National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to conduct a scientific review.

Barton Springs Salamander

Rate of Listing• The annual rate of listing increased

from the Ford administration to the Carter administration. Ford had 15 listings per year, Carter had 32 listings per year, Reagan had 32 per year, George H. W. Bush had 58 per year, Clinton had 65 per year and it has dropped to its lowerst rate under George W. Bush who only had 8 listings per year.

• The rate of listing is strongly connected to citizen involvement. The more people create petitions that cause FWS or NMFS to do research, the more they are listed. The longer species are listed, the more likely they are to be classified as recovering by the FWS.

Ocelot

CategoriesThere are two categoriesthat are on the list,endangered andthreatened.• Endangered species are

closer to extinction than threatened species.

• There is a third category called candidate species. This status means that the FWS decided that the listing is justified but listing the species immediately is prevented due to other priorities.

Hawksbill Sea Turtle

Status• The conservation status of a

species is an sign of the possibility that endangered species not living. Many factors are taken into account when assessing the status of a species. Not only the number remaining, but the overall increase or decrease in the population over time, their breeding success rates, all known threats, etc.

• Internationally, 190 countries have signed an accord agreeing to create biodiversity action plans to protect the endangered and threatened species. In the U.S. this plan is usually called a species recovery plan.

Attwater’s greater Prairie-chicken

Endangered in Texas

• American Alligator, Peck’s cave Amphipod, Mexican long-nosed bat, American black bear, Louisiana black bear, Coffin Cave mold beetle, Comal Springs dryopid beetle, Comal Springs riffle beetle, Kretschmarr Cave mold beetle, Tooth Cave ground beetle, Whooping crane, Eskimo Curlew, Fountain darter, Bald eagle, Northern aplomado falcon, southwestern willow flycatcher, Big Bend Gambusia, Clear Creek Gambusia, Pecos Gambusia, San Marcos Gambusia, Ground beetle, Bee Creek Cave Harvestman, Bone Cave Harvestman, Robber Baron Cave Harvestman, Jaguar, Gulf Coast Jaguarundi, West Indian Manatee, Devils River minnow, Rio Grande silvery Minnow, Helotes Mold beetle, Ocelot, Mexican spotted Owl, Brown Pelican, Piping Plover, Attwater’s greater Prairie-chicken, Tooth Cave Pseudoscorpion, Comanche Springs Pupfish, Leon Springs Pupfish, Barton Springs Salamander, San Marcos Salamander, Texas blind Salamander, green Sea turtle, hawskbill Sea turtle, Kemp’s ridley Sea turtle, leatherback Sea turtle, loggerhead Sea turtle, Arkansas River Shiner, Concho water Snake, Government Canyon cave Spider, Madla’s cave Spider, Robber Baron cave Spider, Tooth cave Spider, Vesper cave Spider, least Tern, Houston Toad, Houston, black-capped Vireo, golden-cheeked Warbler, finback Whale, humpback Whale, Red-cockaded woodpecker

Amphipod Harvestman

Sources Cited

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endangered_Species_Act

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