1、 https:/crsreports.congress.gov June 5, 2019The Legal Framework of the Endangered Species Act (ESA)The Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA or the Act) (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) aims to protect threatened and endangered fish, wildlife, and plants from extinction. In its findings, Congress recognized t
2、he “esthetic, ecological, educational, historical, recreational, and scientific value” that threatened and endangered species provide. The Act creates a framework for facilitating recovery and conservation of endangered and threatened species and minimizing the effect of federal and private actions
3、on these species and their habitats. Listing a species as endangered or threatened triggers many of the Acts protections and, accordingly, frequently spawns legal disputes. Under the ESA, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) within the Department of the Interior manages terrestrial, freshwater,
4、and catadromous species, and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) within the Department of Commerce manages marine species and anadromous fish. (This In Focus refers to “the Secretary” to mean either the Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of Commerce, as applicable.) This In Focus pr
