“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.”
President Richard Nixon, who signed the ESA into law in 1973.
What is the Endangered Species Act?
The Endangered Species Act (16 U.S.C. §1531, et seq.) (ESA) was signed into law in 1973 and is America’s most powerful wildlife conservation and protection law. The ESA is administered by two federal agencies, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Its primary purpose is to conserve endangered and threatened species and their ecosystems.
Though the species listed under the ESA are constantly changing, as of January 2018, the ESA listed…
446 vertebrates (mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fishes).
278 invertebrates (clams, snails, insects, arachnids, crustaceans).
902 flowering plants.
44 non-flowering plants (conifers and cycads, ferns and allies, and lichens).
631 foreign species.
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