Snakes in Crisis: The Endangered Species Act

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Association

 TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. ABSTRACT

II. Humans and the Environment

A. Homo Sapiens

B. Greatness at a Cost

III. Environmental Protection

A. The History of Defense

A.B. The History of DefenseSnakes and the Environment

B.C. The Endangered Species Act

C.D. The IUCN Chart

D.E. Systems and Finances

IV. The Effects of the Endangered Species Act

A. The IUCN’s Improvements

B. Governmental ProtectionEqual Opportunities

V. Conclusion

VI. References

FIGURES
1.1 ESA Endangerment Chart
1.2 Revised International Endangerment Chart
 Abstract

Evolution is an important process that has been vital in producing efficient and tenacious

life that can survive in the earth's ever-changing climates and landmasses. However, with the

appearance of humans, for the first time in history, a single species has become prevalent on

almost every place on earth, capable of changing geography, climate, and ecosystems easily over

minuscule amounts of time. These quick and unpredictable changes have caused a massive

amount of damage to earth, a damage that has touched every continent, every ocean and even the

very air we breathe. Most of all, it has harmed the species that we share the earth with, several

vanishings from their habitats, to never be seen alive again. In the last few centuries, humans

have taken a larger role in counteracting the damage that has been 100,000 years in the making

and has begun putting a larger emphasis on protection of the environment and animals that live

in it. Among those damaged, snakes have been a prime example of creatures who’s habitats have

been destroyed with little awareness of how close many species have come to disappearing from

the face of the earth. While popular animals often get a great deal of traction with their

awareness campaigns, snake species rarely get attention, and take severe damage from the

damage that humankind can inflict on their natural habitats. With the establishment of the U.S.

Fish and Wildlife Association in 1940 and the implementation the Endangered Species Act of

1973, the United States has taken new strides to improve the state of Endangered Species, not

only in their authority but across the globe. The act would go through several revisions and

amendments to better face new struggles and challenges, a continues to inspire new legislation

around the world. The Endangered Species Act is one of the most important pieces of wildlife
legislation to date and will continue to help save species from extinction with the help of the

United States and Governments around the world. It allows all animals to be protected under a

fair priority, not organized by popularity, but the severity of the animals condition.

Humans and the Environment

Over the course of all geographic history, creatures have thrived and diminished in

natural environments, learning to adapt to their environments, evolve and prosper. In order to

evolve, wildlife must comply with the harsh rules of survival, where the fittest, and most resilient

stay, while the weakest dwindle away. It is the story of how every species today has come into

existence, however, it is no longer the story of how they disappear.

Homo Sapiens

When the Humans emerged nearly 100,000 years ago, they were still much like the

animals we know today, struggling to survive in the wild, hunting and gathering and using very

primitive forms of communication to express simple emotions and messages. Approximately 100

millenniums later, the species that would be later known as Homo sapiens, through ever-

increasing intelligence and evolution would spread across the globe and be prominent in almost
every habitat on the planet, turning those environments which were unsuitable, into habitable

oases. They developed societies and social systems to work cohesively, harnessed electricity,

fuel, and coal to power machines and even began to explore the stars, all the while, causing

devastating injury to the very system that made them so resilient.

Greatness at a Cost

While we have created countless marvels and inventions to advance our species, and

without contest dominate all others who share the planet, one of our most important and useful

constructions is the concept of morality. Being out of the cycle of predation humans have been

able to focus increasingly on the suppression of human suffering as well as the wellbeing of

other species, especially when those species have had their ecology drastically altered by human

presence in new habitats. When in care of a younger sibling or a pet, we quickly realize our

natural need to shelter the weak or ignorant from harm. In all our strife or good intentions, we

often damage and ruin the places where animals call home, in ways in which often completely

supersede natural evolutionary processes, whether it be by hunting, poaching, terraforming, or

other methods in which humans often function. In only a couple of centuries, over a dozen

species have gone extinct because of human influence, while hundreds of others have become

endangered or worse. With all of the ingenuity and resources we have cultivated over a long an

impressive history, it is our duty to help species that have been willingly sacrificed in the name

of expansion, and without a consistent and functional plan to protect those we have harmed,

many more species will vanish in the decades soon to come.

 Environmental Protection

During the past few centuries, we have taken notice of the issue that has become more

and more important as species began to disappear at an alarming rate, due to poaching and

overhunting. We have always been fascinated with wildlife and the beauty and grace of animals

that in many ways inspire the inventions that power our way of life. Keeping those animals

around was not simply our duty but our desire, so that when we are gone, our children and

grandchildren would be able to enjoy a world rich with fascinating and diverse species.

The History of Defense

Dating back to 1850, writers and scholars began to catalog wildlife they observed, and

comment on overhunting and the idea that the growing power of the human machine may be

dangerous to the wellbeing of the beauty that nature has cultivated. Authors such as John

Burroughs, George Perkins Marsh, John Muir, and Gifford Pinchot wrote off who became

prominent around the early 1900s wrote passionately about the importance of protecting and

preserving wildlife and their habitats.

As the wellbeing of wildlife began to weigh more and more heavily on our collective

conscience, we began to build areas in which wildlife could flourish without the intrusion of

human hunters and contractors, who would destroy and diminish their ecosystems. We called

these places of refuge “Parks, and with the establishment of Yellowstone National Park in 1972,

Yosemite National Park in 1890, several small acts and Treaties and the creation of the National
Park Service in nearly 30 years later, we took our first steps towards understanding our important

and unique role in nature. In 1940 the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (or FWS) was

formed, a government-funded organization made to specifically oversee the wildlife in the

country. Unfortunately, it would take almost 35 more years before we grasped the full

magnitude of our impact and put in place a plan that would prove efficient in protecting the

creatures of the earth.

Snakes and the Environment

Human dominance threatens creatures big and small, as humans strive to conquer all, and Formatted: Indent: First line: 0.5", Line spacing:
Double
while the conquered triumph, the conquered must either die, or adapt to the new flow of life.

Human habitats however, are drastically different from virtually all naturally occurring biomes,

and are extremely hostile to non-human organisms. Snakes are one species that are particularly

devastated by human construction. Though snakes are not hunted by humans for food, or sport,

they are often indigenous in many of the climates that humans tend to inhabit. Snakes are often

found in temperate and tropical regions, such and forests and prairies, which are very desirable

areas for humans to build structures and settlements. A naturally antagonistic to most humans,

snakes were regarded as dangerous pests for hundreds of years and were often exterminated

when their habitats were destroyed or through trapping. As has passed, almost 20% of all snakes

have become endangered, including several species of viper and rattlesnakes. Several of the top

endangered snakes have even become extinct in the past 100 years. While well-known and

highly coveted species such as tigers and other beloved animals have had large efforts made to

ensure their survival, snake species have rarely seen such vehement support.

The Endangered Species Act

 In 1973, the United States Government passed an Act

known as the Endangered Species Act, with the purpose of

recovering and safeguarding species whose survival has been

Figure 1.1
qualified to be in danger. With the act, a chart was created that

contains easy to understand classifications for species that are being threatened. (see figure 1.1)

The classifications were Extinct, Endangered, Threatened, and Delisted.

The IUCN Chart

The International Union for Conservation of Nature later expanded these classifications,

(see figure 1.2) allowing for a broader and more specific

range of descriptions. From right to left, Extinct, Extinct in

the wild, Critically Endangered, Endangered, Vulnerable,

Near-Threatened, and Least Concern.

Figure 1.2

Systems and Finances

Along with creating an easy interface to identify endangered species, the Endangered

Species Act, or ESA, also provided provision for financial resources for organizations dealing

with the protection of wildlife and prioritized the funding to species that are in the most

immediate need for aid. New systems were put in place to protect extremely endangered species,

in which male and female members on the species would be taken into captivity and facilities

would, to the best of their ability rehabilitate dwindling species until the population was large

enough to be released into a reserve. More restrictions were placed on hunting and fishing so that

special licenses are required to hunt in certain areas, with limits on the amount of wildlife each

person and kill. The definition of harm was carefully defined in the related Endangered Species
Act, allowing for a more specific way to determine what constitutes dangerous actions regarding

interactions with wildlife. New laws were put in place to allow for the federal persecution of

people who may be harming animals, endangered or not, and their habitats. Under federal

jurisdiction, it was made Illegal to possess, sell, deliver, carry, transport or ship wildlife that was

captured or killed without carefully administered licensing.

The Effects of the Endangered Species Act

Through a multitude of provisions and policies, the implementation of the ESA has

drastically turned around a minimal resistance to habitat loss and species endangerment, into a

revolution to protect and invigorate wildlife that is struggling due to the unpredictable changes in

nature.

The IUCN’s Improvements

With the introduction of the endangered species chart, we were able to allow a universal

guide for classifying what species were endangered and the different and easily identifiable

stages in which endangerment progresses. The improvement to the original chart by the

International Union for Conservation of Nature or IUCN was critical as it was quickly

discovered than endangerment is not always easily identified and can often go under the radar.

With the changes implemented by the IUCN, every species is watched carefully so if they are

suspected to be in danger actions can be made early in the case of an unexpected scenario.
Governmental Protection

In the past, with the lack of governmental enforcement, it was a simple task of exploiting

laws and guidelines involving conservation in order to hunt and deforest the land. The new

policies put in place by the ESA add much-needed government backing that makes sure that

anyone who performs acts that further harm species that are endangered or watched by the FWS

will be held accountable and prosecuted under the federal court system. This further deters those

who would break the law by adding serious criminal charges to laws that protect these creatures.

Federal funding of new wildlife organizations also encourages state governments to

develop conservation programs and systems so that they can meet national standards. The

incentives must back have created hundreds of new wildlife protection programs that cater to

endangered wildlife and efficiently monitor individual populations to ensure that they are

healthy. These agencies then act on the state level when needed, allowing for more widespread

and expert handling of issues pertaining to each species.

With new international treaties, the effort to conserve animal life began to span more than

just the united states. Treaties with Mexico and Canada extend the protection of several species

to the entirety of North America, allowing for the full protection of species that do not solely

exist in America. While the American effort remains the primary focus for the FWS, the ultimate

scope extends across the globe, as nature does not stop on the borders of a country, it wraps

around the globe.

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Equal Opportunities

The new meters put in place to measure endangered species allows for fair treatment of all the

species that appear in the threatened or higher classifications. This means that not only will
popular animals get the attention they need, but less popular animals will also be able to get

exposure relative to their need for protection. Though snakes are often unpopular with protection

and preservation groups have increased by a large margin over the past 30 years. This shows the

effectiveness of the new classification system, as well as the rapidly increasing awareness of

snake endangerment.

Conclusion

For over 10,000 years humans have ruled the earth, with an insatiable desire to conquer

and improve our surroundings. With our endless advancement, we have also advanced our

methods of progress, and have found ways to continue to pull ourselves into the future, while

also protecting the other species that populate the world around us. Though we are creatures that

have always been focused on aesthetics and beauty, we must learn to protect not only the

creatures of the earth who appeal to us, but also those who may be less desirable, because

without our protection, there is nothing else that can keep these irreplaceable species safe from

extinction.

The Endangered Species Act is one of the most important pieces of wildlife protection

legislation in the United States, it has allowed for the rehabilitation of wildlife around the

country and continues to improve the state of endangered species through amendments and

revisions that target current problems as well as retaining relevance through its well-crafted

policies and programs that have lasted for over 40 years and continues to inspire new legislation
around the globe. From snakes to birds, every endangered creature has a new chance through the

new awareness the Endangered Species act has raised.

For over 10,000 years humans have ruled the earth, with an insatiable desire to conquer

and improve our surroundings. With our endless advancement, we have also advanced our

methods of progress, and have found ways to continue to pull ourselves into the future, while

also protecting the other species that populate the world around us. Through social and economic

policy, we have continued to better ourselves in the aspect, creating new legislation to keep up to

date with the demands and tolls our ever-evolving society puts on the world.

The Endangered Species Act is one of the most important pieces of wildlife protection

legislation in the United States, it has allowed for the rehabilitation of wildlife around the

country and continues to improve the state of endangered species through amendments and

revisions that target current problems as well as retaining relevance through its well-crafted

policies and programs that have lasted for over 40 years and continues to inspire new legislation

around the globe.

 References

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U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service/Endangered Species Program. (2010). Laws & Policies |

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March 27, 2018, from https://www.fws.gov/endangered/laws-policies/policy-section-

9.html

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service/Endangered Species Program. (2010). Laws & Policies |

Regulations and Policies. Retrieved February 25, 2018, from

https://www.fws.gov/endangered/laws-policies/regulations-and-policies.html

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service/Endangered Species Program. (2010). Endangered Species

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https://www.fws.gov/endangered/laws-policies/

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service/Endangered Species Program. (2010). Laws & Policies |

Federal Register Notices. Retrieved February 26, 2018, from

https://www.fws.gov/endangered/laws-policies/federal-register-notices.html
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service/Endangered Species Program. (2010). Overview. Retrieved

February 28, 2018, from https://www.fws.gov/endangered/about/index.html

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service/Endangered Species Program. (2011). Endangered Species

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from https://www.fws.gov/endangered/laws-policies/esa-history.html