The Endangered Species Act of 1973 in the primary law in the United States for protecting imperiled species. There are three things that caught my attention about the original Endangered Species Act that I will share in this paper. The first thing is that the ESA law was to a greater extent inspired by the bald eagle. This was in 1966 when the national bird, which had decreased in population as a result of hunting and use of toxic pesticides motivated the congress to pass the Act. The second thing that I noted is that saving one species can save countless others. This is because each plant or animal is part of the large ecosystem and this could create a ripple effect if one is preserved. The third thing is that there is a difference between endangered species and threatened species. Endangered species mean that an animal is in danger of becoming extinct while a threatened animal is that which is at risk of becoming endangered in the foreseeable future. Read more

The Endangered Species Act of 197 has been amended several times. It was first amended in 1978 to allow potential exemption from ESA regulations to activities that are similar to the Tellico Dam project. The Act was again amended in 1982 to change the manner in which the species are listed. The congress again amended the ESA in 1988, which required federal listing of worldlife, plants or animals that are in at risk. Any emergency listing takes effect immediately after being published. Texas state has enacted 5 endangered species of Texas including the Star Cactus, Leatherback Sea Turtle, Ocelot, Barton Springs Salamander, and Houston Toad. The ESA acts were enacted in the state to help animals survive and thrive.

It is based on three key elements—listing species as threatened or endangered, designating habitat essential for their survival and recovery, and ultimately restoring healthy populations of the species so they can be removed from the list.