ipl-logo

The Pros And Cons Of The Endangered Species Act

799 Words4 Pages

The Endangered Species Act, frequently referred to as the “pit-bull” of environmental law, has been a catalyst for conflict since its enactment in 1973. Endangered and threatened species, such as the Northern Spotted Owl and the Preble Meadow Jumping Mouse, have historically caused a great deal of conflict between the government and large developers. However, little attention has been given to the ongoing conflicts between smaller, private landowners and the government, resulting from the regulatory and financial burdens placed on these landowners by the Endangered Species Act. For many years, policymakers and researchers were primarily concerned with regional disputes with housing developers, giving little credence to the smaller, more numerous fights going on across the country.
Over time, these disputes drained the resources of the government …show more content…

In 1966, Congress passed the Endangered Species Preservation Act, which authorized the Secretary of the Interior to create a list of endangered domestic species that agencies were to avoid harming (Petersen, 1999). Shortly after the Act was passed, Congress was pressured by the “growing movement to save the whales” and created the Endangered Species Conservation Act as a result. This legislation allowed for international species to be placed on the Secretary of Interior’s list, but was otherwise similar to its predecessor. The pentagon was angered by the passing of the Endangered Species Conservation Act due to their reliance on sperm-whale oil for their submarines (Petersen, 1999). The pentagon blatantly ignored the Secretary’s wishes to avoid harming species on the list and it soon became clear to Congress that a more prohibitive law was needed. Because of this disregard, the Nixon administration passed the Endangered Species Act in 1973, during a time when environmental policy was gaining political favorability (Petersen,

Open Document