The United States’ Endangered Species Act (ESA) is used as a template for many other

nation’s laws and programs.

The process of conserving endangered species:

1. Identification to determine which species are in danger of extinction

2. Protection to determine and implement short-term measures to halt a specie’s
extinction
3. Recovery to determine and implement long-term measures to rebuild the
population of a species to a point where it is no longer in danger of extinction.
Identification – What to protect
Protection efforts can be directed toward species, subspecies, or populations.
Protecting species is easier than subspecies or populations because it involves
protecting fewer organisms. Protecting populations increases the funding necessary for
protection and increases the potential conflicts with landowners. But it can be argued
that it is more valuable to protect populations because they provide ecosystem services
that are essential to human welfare.

Protection efforts have a geographic extent that influence species’ endangered

status. Isolated populations of a species may be considered endangered, yet the species
may not be endangered relative to their entire habitat.

Protection efforts can exclude certain types of plants or animals, with the
argument that by excluding a few groups, the habitats of many other species can be
protected.

The ESA addresses these issues by allowing for the protection of species and
subspecies of plants and animals (including invertebrate animals). In the case of
vertebrates only, it also allows for the protection of distinct population segments. The
ESA no longer uses political borders in determining what species should be protected
and insists that populations should be discrete ecological entities in order to be eligible
for inclusion on the endangered list. The addition of any plant or animal to the
endangered species list is based purely on scientific data and political considerations
are not allowed to interfere.
Criteria for determining whether a species is endangered

Biologists look for indications of vulnerability: Small population size, declining

population, continuous loss of habitat, etc. In cases where not enough data exists, the
decision is based on expert opinion. The International Union for Conservation of Nature
(IUCN) standardized the assessment of species’ endangered status and developed a set
of quantitative guidelines, known as the Red List categories and criteria. These
guidelines enable scientists to assign any plant or animal to one of six categories:
Extinct, Extinct in the Wild, Critically Endangered, Endangered, Vulnerable, and Near
Threatened. The categories are based on factors such as range size, amount of occupied
habitat, population size, trends in population size, or trends in the amount of habitat.

The ESA criteria for defining a species that is at risk of extinction is vague, and
guidelines change for individual nations, states, provinces, etc.
Protection

To develop a protection plan you need to know:

1. What threats does the species face?

2. Where do those species occur?

Knowledge of the threats will determine the protection and recovery efforts.
Knowledge of the location will guide the choice of conservation strategy.
What are the threats?
Threats vary by taxon, geography, time, and knowledge of species.
Where do endangered species live?
It is important to know whether endangered species occur on public or private
land. In the US it is estimated that private lands contain more than half the nation’s
endangered species. Private lands are more difficult to conduct conservation efforts due
to the landowners’ hesitancy to allow surveys on their land.
Protection under the ESA
Effective protection of endangered species must be capable of preserving habitat,
halting overexploitation, and slowing the spread of alien species. Once a species has
been added to the endangered species list in the US, it is protected to varying degrees.
Federal agencies are prohibited from conducting any activities that impacts the survival
or recovery of a listed species. Private citizens are prohibited from harming listed
animals. Listed plants are not protected on private lands unless a private activity
requires a federal permit. This distinction between plant and animal does not have any
ecological basis.
Recovery

Recovery aims to secure the long-term future of the species by rebuilding its
population, restore its habitat, or reduce the threats so that it is no longer endangered.
The ESA requires that recovery plans be developed for all listed species that lay out the
steps to recovery and estimate a budget. Many plans fail to utilize available biological
data and lack information on the threats facing endangered species. Other plans fail to
detect changes in the status of species or assess the impacts of recovery actions.
The management challenge
Most endangered species require intensive management and protection,
indefinitely, for three reasons:

1. The leading cause of species endangerment worldwide is habitat loss.

Until new habitat is created via ecological restoration the endangered
species will remain endangered.
2. Many species live in ecosystems that are maintained by natural
disturbances such as fires or floods. These disturbances are disrupted
by human intervention. To ensure the survival of disturbance-
dependent species, controlled disturbances are necessary.
3. Many species are increasingly endangered by invasive species that are
difficult to eliminate and require constant effort to control.

Recovery can be viewed as a continuum, from species that can survive with no
active management to species that can persist in the wild only if they are
managed by humans.
Incentives and disincentives
Species conservation policies are divided into two categories: incentives and
disincentives. Incentive programs often lack adequate funding to pay land developers
for their losses from conservation. Therefore, disincentive programs are used to protect
endangered species by imposing fines on violators. Disincentives are only effective if
they are enforced.

Disincentives are most useful in the protection phase and incentives are useful in
the recovery phase.
Key Points QTISUS
The Four Horsemen of the Environmental Apocalypse:

Habitat Destruction (and Pollution), Invasive Species, Overexploitation, and Disease.

Freshwater Mussels were the most heavily impacted by Habitat Destruction and
Pollution. Reptiles were the most impacted by Overexploitation. Birds were the most
impacted by both Invasive species and Disease.