Parvez Nawab
BIO.191,BOWLER
1-25-97

AMERICA'S ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT

Save the Bald Eagles! Save the whales! Save the Mountain Lions! Such were the environmentalists rallying cries that brought about the Endangered Species Act of 1973. Although, the first official endangered species legislation was a 1966 bill that called for saving U.S. wildlife, but lacked the powers to do so. The Endangered Species Act(ESA) of 1973 set forth the basic rules that apply in the U.S. today. Two agencies, the Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service, are responsible for reviewing the status of species in trouble to see if they warrant listing as either threatened or endangered. The decision is to be based solely on scientific data rather than social factors, such as economic, political, and psychological factors. In theory, once a species is listed, no person, group or branch of the federal government; not even the United States Department of Defense- is allowed to proceed with a project that might harm the creature without first consulting and obtaining permission of the wildlife or fisheries service. America's establishment of the Endangered Species Act is probably the most unselfish approach to nature taken by mankind. In fact, the Endangered Species Act is an attempt by the human species to become part of the ecosystem, rather than dictate the end result. However, history shows that the ESA is perhaps mankind's greatest invention to filter other species from the ecosystem, which are irrelevant to humans' interest on "our" spaceship called Earth, when viewed from a psychological perspective.

The Endangered Species Act is a classical case of human chauvinism at its best because under it humans, or people, come first and everything else a bad last, though sometimes we claim it as freedom, because it gives us permission to perform a wide range of actions (including actions which mess up the environment and natural order of things) provided they do not cause "pain" to ourselves. By pain, I mean to our consciences or if you will our "souls." By adopting the Endangered Species Act, Americans have adopted a simple value theory, when it comes to dealing with other life forms. This theory is simply- pleasure is good and pain is evil. According to this theory, under the Endangered Species Act, the extinction of any species that would bring pain to ourselves is to be saved and those that do not hamper our consciences can be done away with.

This is evident from the modern viewpoint of the caretakers and enforcers of the Endangered Species Act, the Fish & Wildlife Services. According to them the Endangered Species Act of 1973, holds that endangered and threatened species of animal and plants "are of esthetics, ecological, educational, historical, recreational, and scientific value to the nation and its people (Fish & Wildlife Service,1989)." Even advertisements and public educational programs to save endangered species, only point out the value of certain species to mankind. Nowhere is it said that a species should be preserved for intrinsic values and its right to exist in the world.

For example, the most famous of the American listed endangered species is the Bald Eagle, our nation's symbol. The loss of these birds would have been painful to our ego and national pride. By placing the bird on the Endangered Species Act, we have kept our nations pride and showed the world that, we are loving and caring people. One could view this as a way for us Americans to gain pleasure, by allowing our conscience to believe that we are amending the devastation caused by progress. Due to the rapid rate of America's industrial progress, the majestic bird reached an estimated low of 400 nesting pairs in the 1960s (Ullrich,1971). By spending a lot of money to breed and protect these birds, they have been rescued from the claws of extinction. As of 1991, nesting pairs of the bald eagles in the lower 48 states numbered over 3,000 (Fish & Wildlife Services,1991). And as of 1994, on our nations two-hundredth birthday, the Bald Eagle was taken off the Endangered list and placed on the threatened list. What started out as a campaign to save our nations' ego and pride, in fact, turned out to be one of the most beneficial gains to the human population and other life forms on Earth. What many people fail to realize is that by saving the Bald Eagles, humans have saved their own race. Believe it or not, this is true. Because the plight to save this bird spurred a ban on the metabolism-warping pesticide DDT. DDT has been historically responsible for the destruction and harmful affects on many creatures as well as humans. The early detection and banning of DDT has allowed many other species, among which are some of my personal favorites, such as the American Peregrine falcon and the California brown pelican to sustain their existence. Historically, the most charismatic of animals to attract mankind's psychic has been the whales. These massive creatures are probably the oldest surviving species on our plant. Since the early 1970s, humans throughout the world campaigned to end the massive destruction of whales that was taking place. Because of such a massive response to whaling, the United States declared eight whale species endangered and passed the Marine Mammal Protection Act to protect whales and dolphins in U.S. waters (Drew,1995). Because of the constant demonstrations and rallies to "Save the Whales," the International Whaling Commission agreed to ban whaling to a minimum in 1986. As a result, many of the massive blue whale, "singing" humpback, California gray whale and the dolphin populations are increasing. The California gray whales have increased from a few thousand to about 24,000, sufficiently recovered to have been removed from the endangered species list in June of 1994. In place of whaling, a new industry has been established, which is based upon simply enjoying these coast-hugging giants for their intrinsic value. Some 300,000 people spent five million dollars a year whale watching from glass bottom boats in California alone (Catalina, 1995). This is the exact kind of success story the ESA was conceived to produce. A unique relationship has been established in which the whales win and the people win, and both will for generations to come.

Humans have a tendency to believe that larger mammals and birds suffer pain, as do other human beings, thus these creatures tend to get more leniency from the Endangered Species Act. For example the mountain lion, which is a mammal that represents a animal that many humans have a special relationship with, of course I am referring to the house cat. As a result, Americans, not only established protection and care of the mountain lions under the Endangered Species Act, but also they protected these large cats by restricting hunting on their main prey, mainly deer and elks. According to National Geographic, there are about 9,000 to 12,000 lions now in California, Colorado, and Idaho, which compromises the top three states in lion populations. I chose to bring this particular species to light, because according to a recent article in L.A. Times, there is a bill being considered in the California legislature that would allow the mountain lions to be hunted once again, legally. The senate has already approved the bill, and a final Assembly vote is expected this week (Morain,1995). The proposed reasoning behind such a drastic move is protecting private property rights of humans, improving California's economy, and relieving businesses of some of the environmental restrictions. This would be a major blow to a species that has just recently made a comeback, and even a greater lose to the environmental movement. If the bill does pass, it would further support my theory that Americans value their personal "pains" over the other life forms.

When it comes to plants, fish, reptiles, and other vertebrates the analogy of pain and pleasure is still taken into consideration, but acted less upon by the Endangered Species Act. And at the end of the latter are mollusks like oysters and insects are even more difficult to get protected under the Endangered Species Act, because humans tend to believe that these creatures do not suffer pain because they are so numerous and so insignificant. Many species in these categories are allowed to be destroyed without a second thought. How many of us knew that the Devil's Hole Pupfish, Flat-Spired Three-Toothed Land Snail, and Green Pitcher Plant are endangered species in the United States (Middleton,1991). In fact, the number of species on the official U.S. endangered and threatened species list in 1973 was 92, and more than 600 mammals, birds, reptiles, fishes, mollusks, plants, and other life forms native to the United States were officially protected as endangered or threatened species as of 1991. And by 1994 the number of listed species more than doubled to 1,467 (National Wildlife(NW),May 1995). There is a constant build-up of backlog of species waiting to be listed under the ESA, currently in line are about 3,700 officially recognized candidates, which may qualify for the ESA protection but have not yet undergone a full review. Currently between 50 and 100 species are added to the list every year. Roderick Nash, a environmental historian, believes a conservative estimate of the current extinction rate is 10,000 known species a year and rising, mostly because of the destruction of forests and other key habitats. The problem for the enforcement and regulation of the ESA has been the lack of money. During the first eighteen years, annual funding for the endangered species program averaged $39 million per year, which keep in mind has remained constant, but this money has to be distributed among a constantly increasing list of species. The amount of money may appear to be staggering, but this money is about enough to build a mile of urban interstate highway, or about 16 cents a year from every taxpayer- one dime, a nickel, and a penny toward the safety net for the 150,000 species estimated to inhabit the United States (NW,May 1995). With more animals being added to the ESA list, the allotment of the money is getting smaller for each species. Thus, humans have responded by allotting money to protect and save species deemed worthy of preserving.

Some species provide a more direct value to humans. For example, a cancer fighting drug had been derived from the bark of a yew that was native to the Pacific Northwest forests, which were being cut for timber. Although, this Pacific Yew is scarce and a threatened species, it was deemed unworthy of protection under the Endangered Species Act, because scientists have synthesized taxol, which was the substance obtained from the Pacific Yew . As evident from the Pacific Yew example, in cases of conflict, humans interests take precedence over those of individual animals and plants, and most sensible people believe; and, by the same token, the interests of sentiment animals take precedence over those of unsentimental animals and platns

In the United States, it is believed at least 500 known species and subspecies of plants and animals have become extinct since the 1500s. Natural causes appear to have claimed just one of the animals, a marine snail that used to live off New England's shores. Keep in mind that we had hardly gotten to know the others and many species have perished without ever being discovered. But by the 1950s almost everyone knew about the passenger pigeon, the last one of millions named Marta, dying alone in a cage at the Cincinnati Zoo in 1914. The general population in America knew that oblivion had nearly claimed the bison, whooping crane, and southern trumpeter swan, too. Those animals had been snatched back from the brink at the final minute (Lemonick,1994). The point being, it could be done if people cared enough about the endangered species. During the 1960s and the early 1970s, an era of new found environmental awareness, the nation as a whole was ready to try. In recent time the Endangered Species Act of 1973 had come under fire in the congress, with a bill introduced in April of 1995, by Sen. Slade Gorton (R-Washington), which would have limited the Endangered Species Act to certain land and species, basically what is economically profitable to certain organization groups or certain interest groups. I beg to differ with the uninformed senator, because since the beginning of the Endangered Species Act, humans have always dictated which species are worthy or unworthy of our protection and patronage of surviving within the rapidly changing world.

Another problem constantly faced by the Endangered Species Act is that some organizations and certain interest groups want to see the Endangered Species Act ended because they argue it is a waste of tax money to save animals that are not able to survive on their own, or as they would put it "Survival of the fittest." The most controversial and publicized of these struggles, that still persist between the lumber industry and the Spotted Owl in the Northern Pacific region. Here, the main controversy being argued is whether a endangered species should be considered more relevant than the survival of humans making a living by working in the lumber industry or depend upon it for their survival. Only, time will tell, whether the ESA can live up to its purpose or is the American ESA a predator.

As Aldo Leopold, one of the founder of the conservation movement, said,"...If the land mechanism as a whole is good, then every part is good, whether we understand it or not... (Leopold,1970)." We must all understand that we are not separate from nature, we are an integral part of it. But we have become so disconnected from other living beings, so involved in controlling and dominating our environment to provide our so-called high standard of living, that we have lost sight of ourselves as responsible members of the larger community of life on Earth. This alienation threatens the human spirit. Perhaps, we have become the ultimate predators, who with increasing population and more powerful means will be able to devour the Earth only to find ourselves endangered in the future. Or are we as a species capable of having the strength, insight, and resolve to adapt our behavior in the best interest of Mother Ghia(Earth) and of ourselves, this is yet to be seen, but the Endangered Species Act is a step towards achieving that goal.

Heartbeats from extinction, many creatures owe their survival to the tough and controversial Endangered Species Act of 1973. The Endangered Species Act might not be more than a license to kill, at present for the human race. But it grants certain animals the privilege to exist, even if that means just for the benefit of mankind's conscience, pleasure and in some cases mankind's health. And with the world population of humans increasing at an estimated 30 million per year, the Endangered Species Act might be the only factor determining a species existence in the future. Having learned to give a damn, Americans perhaps will rediscover the one community to which all species can belong to on our planet. With the ESA barely surviving its sixth re­authorization, the nation has weighed not just its benefits but also its cost. But, we must keep in mind, from this point forward, it is what we give back to nature, not what we take from it, that will make our nation a better place to live for all creatures. The measures we take to save endangered species will ensure that the planet we leave for our children is as healthy as the planet our ancestors left for us.
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Works Cited:

Catalina. (1995). Tourist and environment impact on California's Island of Paradise.
The Wrigley Memorial and Botanical Garden: Video presentation.
Drew, Lisa. "25 Messages From Wildlife." National Wildlife April/May 1995: 8-19.
Fish & Wildlife Services.(1989). Endangered Species:General Information. Department of The Interior. Washington,D.C.:U.S. Government Printing Office.
Fish & Wildlife Services.(1991).Why Save Endangered Species?
Department of The Interior. Washington,D.C.:U.S. Government Printing Office.
Lemonick D. Michael.(1994,November).Animal Genocide, Mob Style. Times, pp.77-78.
Leopold,Aldo.(1970). A Sand County Almanac. New York: Ballantine Books.
Middleton, Susan & David Liittschwager. (1991) Here Today:Portraits of Our Vanishing Species. San Francisco: Chronicle Books.
Moran, Dan. "Environmental Laws Under Siege." Los Angeles Times 10 September 1995, late ed.: A3,A31.
Ullrich, Wolfgang Dr. (1972). Endangered Species. New York: Hart Publishing Company,Inc.



Websites of Interest:
http://mamba.bio.uci.edu/-pjbryant/bio65/lec08/b65lec08.html
http://www.dfg.ca.gov/Lion/index.html
http://mortay.com.80/Cougar/LionMeetPeople.html
http://www.virtual-markets.net:80/vme/yeaw/issues.html
http://npsc.nbs.gov.80/resource/distr/others/nddanger/species/halileuc.html
http://ponderosa-pine.uoregon.edu:80/Bi220/sroka/UsesoftthePacificYewTree.html

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