The Endangered Species Act was passed and instituted in 1973. This act was seen as key legislation for both domestic and international conservation. The act is aimed to provide a framework to conserve and protect endangered and threatened species and their habitats. The goal of this act was to protect all species threatened with extinction that fall within the borders of the United States and its other territories.
The Endangered Species Act allows authorities to determine whether a given species is qualified for endangered or threatened status. According to the USFWS, the “species” definition also extends to subspecies or any distinct population segment capable of interbreeding. This means that certain subsets of a species may also be singled out for protection. If granted the status of “Endangered”, the act prevents unauthorized harvest, custody, trade, and transport of the species. (Plants, animals, and other at-risk organisms). The act allows for the application of civil and criminal penalties upon those who violate this law.
To regulate the Endangered Species Act there are different organizations that watch over each area of the environment. For example, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) of the Department of the Interior and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) of the Department of Commerce is responsible for the conservation and management of endangered fish and wildlife resources and their habitats. With this role an organization has, comes the power to establish cooperative agreements with and award monetary grants to the states to provide protection for at-risk organisms within their borders. States are offered financial assistance and incentives to develop and maintain these organizations,
