Endangered Species Act Amendments of 1978
Encyclopedia
The Endangered Species Act
(ESA) was first passed in 1973 and forms the basis of biodiversity
and endangered species protection in the United States. The original purpose of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 was to prevent species endangerment
and extinction
due to the human impact on natural ecosystems. The three most powerful sections of the ESA are Sections 4,7 and 9. Section 4 allows the Secretaries of Interior
and Commerce to list species as threatened or endangered based on best available data. Section 7 requires federal agencies to consult with Fish and Wildlife Service
(FWS) or National Marine Fisheries Service
(NMFS) before taking any action that may threaten a listed species. Section 9 forbids the taking of an endangered species. The first amendment to the ESA was passed by the 95th United States Congress
in 1978 to "introduce some flexibility into the Endangered Species Act."
The Snail Darter case
was important for the ESA because it made Congress
realize how powerful the ESA really was. In 1966, the Tennessee Valley Authority
began construction on the Tellico Dam
on the Little Tennessee River
. For years, environmentalists tried to shut down the project, but their actions were unsuccessful until the discovery of the snail darter
, a small fish that feeds off aquatic snails. The snail darter was listed as an endangered species in 1975 and part of the Little Tennessee River was designated as critical habitat. The completion of the Tellico Dam threatened the survival of the snail darter, which was thought to be native only to the Little Tennessee River. In 1976, battle in the courts between the Tennessee Valley Authority and environmentalists began over the fate of the snail darter. Over the next three years, the decision was appealed all the way to the Supreme Court
. The courts sided with the environmentalists and it was decided that the Tennessee Valley Authority was not exempt from Section 7 requirements.
John Culver
and Howard Baker
introduced a bill that would create a seven-member Cabinet
-level committee with the authority to exempt a federal agency from Section 7 requirements. In 1978, both the House of Representatives and Senate vote to amend the ESA and on November 10, 1978 President Carter signed the amendment into law.
The God Squad is a committee composed of seven Cabinet-level members: The administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency
, the administrator of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
, the chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers
, a representative from the state
in question, the Secretary of Agriculture
, the Secretary of the Army
, and the Secretary of the Interior
. This committee has the authority to allow the extinction by exempting a federal agency from Section 7 requirements. To exempt a species, five of the seven members must vote in favor of the exemption. The following conditions must be met for a species to be considered for exemption:
Also, mitigation efforts must be taken to reduce the negative effects on the endangered species.
. It started in 1991, when a federal judge ordered the halting of logging in Pacific Northwest national forests due to the threat it caused to the Northern Spotted Owl. Following this action, the Bureau of Land Management
(BLM) filed for exemption from Section 7. The Northern Spotted Owl is a medium sized bird that is dependent on old growth forest and large territories for survival. The BLM came up with a solution that allowed logging to continue in the area, which included the sale of 44 timber tracks to the logging industry. The 44 tracks totaled 4400 acres (18 km²) of land. The God Squad convened and discussed the issue. In a 5:2 vote, the God Squad voted for approval of the exemption in thirteen of the sales where there was no reasonable alternative to the sale. The environmentalists and the BLM agreed on a compromise that allowed the timber sale to continue. The BLM would develop a Long Range Forest Management Plan that would need to be approved by the FWS before any future timber sales. When the Clinton administration came into office, they withdrew the exemption request and convened a conference where they developed the Forest Ecosystem Management Assessment Team (FEMAT). The FEMAT was created to protect the owl while managing the forest. FEMAT and the Clinton administration agreed to protect 10 million acres (40,000 km²) of old growth forest for the owl, while limiting logging to 1 billion board feet (2 million m³) per year.
Endangered Species Act
The Endangered Species Act of 1973 is one of the dozens of United States environmental laws passed in the 1970s. Signed into law by President Richard Nixon on December 28, 1973, it was designed to protect critically imperiled species from extinction as a "consequence of economic growth and...
(ESA) was first passed in 1973 and forms the basis of biodiversity
Biodiversity
Biodiversity is the degree of variation of life forms within a given ecosystem, biome, or an entire planet. Biodiversity is a measure of the health of ecosystems. Biodiversity is in part a function of climate. In terrestrial habitats, tropical regions are typically rich whereas polar regions...
and endangered species protection in the United States. The original purpose of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 was to prevent species endangerment
Endangered species
An endangered species is a population of organisms which is at risk of becoming extinct because it is either few in numbers, or threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters...
and extinction
Extinction
In biology and ecology, extinction is the end of an organism or of a group of organisms , normally a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and recover may have been lost before this point...
due to the human impact on natural ecosystems. The three most powerful sections of the ESA are Sections 4,7 and 9. Section 4 allows the Secretaries of Interior
United States Secretary of the Interior
The United States Secretary of the Interior is the head of the United States Department of the Interior.The US Department of the Interior should not be confused with the concept of Ministries of the Interior as used in other countries...
and Commerce to list species as threatened or endangered based on best available data. Section 7 requires federal agencies to consult with Fish and Wildlife Service
United States Fish and Wildlife Service
The United States Fish and Wildlife Service is a federal government agency within the United States Department of the Interior dedicated to the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats...
(FWS) or National Marine Fisheries Service
National Marine Fisheries Service
The National Marine Fisheries Service is a United States federal agency. A division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Department of Commerce, NMFS is responsible for the stewardship and management of the nation's living marine resources and their habitat within the...
(NMFS) before taking any action that may threaten a listed species. Section 9 forbids the taking of an endangered species. The first amendment to the ESA was passed by the 95th United States Congress
95th United States Congress
The Ninety-fifth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from January 3, 1977 to January 3, 1979, during the first two years...
in 1978 to "introduce some flexibility into the Endangered Species Act."
The Snail Darter
Snail darter controversy
The snail darter controversy involved the delay of the construction of the Tellico Dam on the Little Tennessee River in 1973. On August 12, 1973, University of Tennessee biologist and professor David Etnier discovered the snail darter in the Little Tennessee River while doing research related to a...
was important for the ESA because it made Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
realize how powerful the ESA really was. In 1966, the Tennessee Valley Authority
Tennessee Valley Authority
The Tennessee Valley Authority is a federally owned corporation in the United States created by congressional charter in May 1933 to provide navigation, flood control, electricity generation, fertilizer manufacturing, and economic development in the Tennessee Valley, a region particularly affected...
began construction on the Tellico Dam
Tellico Dam
Tellico Dam is a dam built by the Tennessee Valley Authority in Loudon County, Tennessee on the Little Tennessee River just above the main stem of the Tennessee River. It impounds the Tellico Reservoir....
on the Little Tennessee River
Little Tennessee River
The Little Tennessee River is a tributary of the Tennessee River, approximately 135 miles long, in the Appalachian Mountains in the southeastern United States.-Geography:...
. For years, environmentalists tried to shut down the project, but their actions were unsuccessful until the discovery of the snail darter
Snail darter
The snail darter is a small , rare fish found in the waters of East Tennessee. It is a variety of darter which feeds primarily on aquatic snails....
, a small fish that feeds off aquatic snails. The snail darter was listed as an endangered species in 1975 and part of the Little Tennessee River was designated as critical habitat. The completion of the Tellico Dam threatened the survival of the snail darter, which was thought to be native only to the Little Tennessee River. In 1976, battle in the courts between the Tennessee Valley Authority and environmentalists began over the fate of the snail darter. Over the next three years, the decision was appealed all the way to the Supreme Court
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
. The courts sided with the environmentalists and it was decided that the Tennessee Valley Authority was not exempt from Section 7 requirements.
Weakening the ESA
Starting in the spring of 1977, members of Congress made several attempts to pass legislation that weakened the ESA. Many large business interest groups, including the mining and timber industries, also spoke out against the power of the ESA. Beginning in April 1978, the Senate Subcommittee on Resources Protection began debating and developing a bill that would create a committee with power to exempt federal actions from Section 7 requirements. On April 12, 1978 SenatorsUnited States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
John Culver
John Culver
John Chester Culver is an American politician of the Democratic Party who represented Iowa in both the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate....
and Howard Baker
Howard Baker
Howard Henry Baker, Jr. is a former Senate Majority Leader, Republican U.S. Senator from Tennessee, White House Chief of Staff, and a former United States Ambassador to Japan.Known in Washington, D.C...
introduced a bill that would create a seven-member Cabinet
United States Cabinet
The Cabinet of the United States is composed of the most senior appointed officers of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States, which are generally the heads of the federal executive departments...
-level committee with the authority to exempt a federal agency from Section 7 requirements. In 1978, both the House of Representatives and Senate vote to amend the ESA and on November 10, 1978 President Carter signed the amendment into law.
The Amendment of 1978 and the "God Squad"
The 1978 amendment to the ESA "attempts to retain the basic integrity of the ESA, while introducing some flexibility which will permit exemptions from the Act's stringent requirements." The amendment clarified the ESA of 1973 in many ways including clearly defining the term critical habitat, clearly defining penalties for non-compliance and determining the future appropriation of funds. The most important change that was brought about by the 1978 amendment was the creation of the Endangered Species Committee, known as the "God Squad" because of the substantial impact of its decisions on the natural world.The God Squad is a committee composed of seven Cabinet-level members: The administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency
The Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency is the head of the United States federal government's Environmental Protection Agency, and is thus responsible for enforcing the nation's Clean Air and Clean Water Acts, as well as numerous other environmental statutes. The Administrator is...
, the administrator of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration , pronounced , like "noah", is a scientific agency within the United States Department of Commerce focused on the conditions of the oceans and the atmosphere...
, the chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers
Council of Economic Advisers
The Council of Economic Advisers is an agency within the Executive Office of the President that advises the President of the United States on economic policy...
, a representative from the state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
in question, the Secretary of Agriculture
United States Secretary of Agriculture
The United States Secretary of Agriculture is the head of the United States Department of Agriculture. The current secretary is Tom Vilsack, who was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on 20 January 2009. The position carries similar responsibilities to those of agriculture ministers in other...
, the Secretary of the Army
United States Secretary of the Army
The Secretary of the Army is a civilian official within the Department of Defense of the United States of America with statutory responsibility for all matters relating to the United States Army: manpower, personnel, reserve affairs, installations, environmental issues, weapons systems and...
, and the Secretary of the Interior
United States Secretary of the Interior
The United States Secretary of the Interior is the head of the United States Department of the Interior.The US Department of the Interior should not be confused with the concept of Ministries of the Interior as used in other countries...
. This committee has the authority to allow the extinction by exempting a federal agency from Section 7 requirements. To exempt a species, five of the seven members must vote in favor of the exemption. The following conditions must be met for a species to be considered for exemption:
- there must be no reasonable alternative to the agencies action
- the benefits of the action must outweigh the benefits of an alternative action where the species is conserved
- the action is of regional or national importance
- neither the federal agency or the exemption applicant made irreversible commitment to the resources.
Also, mitigation efforts must be taken to reduce the negative effects on the endangered species.
The God Squad and the Northern Spotted Owl
The God Squad was once again called into session in the case of the Northern Spotted OwlNorthern Spotted Owl
The Northern Spotted Owl, Strix occidentalis caurina, is one of three Spotted Owl subspecies. A Western North American bird in the family Strigidae, genus Strix, it is a medium-sized dark brown owl sixteen to nineteen inches in length and one to one and one sixth pounds. Females are larger than males...
. It started in 1991, when a federal judge ordered the halting of logging in Pacific Northwest national forests due to the threat it caused to the Northern Spotted Owl. Following this action, the Bureau of Land Management
Bureau of Land Management
The Bureau of Land Management is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior which administers America's public lands, totaling approximately , or one-eighth of the landmass of the country. The BLM also manages of subsurface mineral estate underlying federal, state and private...
(BLM) filed for exemption from Section 7. The Northern Spotted Owl is a medium sized bird that is dependent on old growth forest and large territories for survival. The BLM came up with a solution that allowed logging to continue in the area, which included the sale of 44 timber tracks to the logging industry. The 44 tracks totaled 4400 acres (18 km²) of land. The God Squad convened and discussed the issue. In a 5:2 vote, the God Squad voted for approval of the exemption in thirteen of the sales where there was no reasonable alternative to the sale. The environmentalists and the BLM agreed on a compromise that allowed the timber sale to continue. The BLM would develop a Long Range Forest Management Plan that would need to be approved by the FWS before any future timber sales. When the Clinton administration came into office, they withdrew the exemption request and convened a conference where they developed the Forest Ecosystem Management Assessment Team (FEMAT). The FEMAT was created to protect the owl while managing the forest. FEMAT and the Clinton administration agreed to protect 10 million acres (40,000 km²) of old growth forest for the owl, while limiting logging to 1 billion board feet (2 million m³) per year.