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Endangered Species Act Essay

Decent Essays

The Endangered Species Act was enacted by Congress in 1973. According to Reference 1, this act requires the federal government to protect endangered species, threatening species, and their critical habits. Animals are protected from being harmed, sold, or traded and plants are protected if they are on federal property. The conservation success of this act is very important because it saves wildlife and plants from going extinct. Many people do not realize that the loss of a species can be disastrous for our ecosystem. Reference 1 lists six success stories of endangered species under the act. The success stories are of the bald eagle, florida panther, gray wolf, grizzly bear, peregrine falcon, and the red-cockaded woodpecker. The Endangered …show more content…

In Reference 3, Louisa Wilcox (Natural Resources Defense Council Member) talks about how grateful she is to the Endangered Species Act for allowing grizzly bears to strive in the Yellowstone National Park. She reported, “After listing, the government cleaned up the massive garbage problems in Yellowstone Park, which reduced the habituation of bears to human foods—a pattern that often leads to grizzly deaths”. As a result, the Yellowstone grizzly population has more than doubled. In order to measure the success of more species besides the grizzly bear, the Center for Biological Diversity tested the recovery rate of 110 listed species. The result was a remarkable ninety percent.
I do agree with the evidence that the Endangered Species Act has been a conservation success. There is no denying that this act has helped thousands of animals and the statistics prove it. A recovery rate of ninety percent not only shows its success, but its potential for future success as well. I accept the claims made in the articles and there is sufficient valid support to the claims provided by organizations like the National Wildlife Federation, Natural Resources Defense Council, and the Center for Biological

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