Endangered Species Act

The Endangered Species Act (ESA) was passed into law on the 28th December 1973. It was enforced by the United States of America to protect critically jeopardized species from extinction, from a consequence of development and economic growth and the conservation of the environment they depend on. There are two main federal agencies that are administered to the act: the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). A species is considered endangered when it faces the danger of extinction of its range or a high portion and if a species is likely to become an endangered in a foreseeable time. Overall there are about 2,100 species that are listed as endangered and of these about 1,500 found in the United States.
The main goal of the ESA is to prevent jeopardized animals and plants from becoming extinct and removing or decreasing any threat to their survival. There are five main provisions of the law state that are classified into listing provision, scientific consultation, controlling the kill, statute enforcement and habitat conservation plan. The listing provision is the process of listing a species as endangered or threatened and is followed up by a critical habitat designation. The scientific consultation is the duty that federal agencies have to avoid acting in a way that might jeopardize he existence of a listed species and to consult with the ESA agencies if any species listed are present and if so how they can be avoided. The controlling to kill provision makes it illegal for people to import, sell, deliver, carry or possess any listed species or if any of the mentioned actions are attempted. Furthermore it also states that killing, harming, shooting, capturing or any action closely related any listed species is illegal as well. The statue enforcement is the civil and criminal penalty that are enforced for knowing any violations of the law, for example not listing a species if there is clear