Endangered Species Act Essay

Words: 715
Pages: 3

Endangered Species Act “It is folly to think that we can destroy one species and ecosystem after another and not affect humanity. When we save species, we’re actually saving ourselves.” - Joel Sartore. Joel Sartore is an extremely talented photographer that works for National Geographic. Richard Nixon signed off on the act in 1973 and it has been in act for over 40 years now. Some species that are protected by this act are whooping cranes, red pandas, and tigers. Since the Endangered Species Act has been enacted many species have been taken off of the list or their numbers have risen, groups have been founded, and several laws have been enacted. The ESA has actually helped certain species grow in numbers and are now at a healthy population. Some examples would be tigers and american alligators. Tiger numbers are rising for the first time in 100 years and it should be doubled by the year 2020. The World Wildlife Fund has been trying to help tigers as much as they can by trying to get stronger law enforcement in Asia, their natural habitat, because poachers are still a big threat to their species. The American Alligator is now thriving and has a massive population in …show more content…
There are specific laws that say what you can kill like hunting bans. For example you are never allowed to kill a Key Deer because they are extremely endangered. There is the Migratory Bird Treaty Act which is a law between Canada, Great Britain, and America saying that any birds migrating to or from each country are not allowed to be killed. There is the Wilderness Act which was signed by President Lyndon Johnson and this gives 9.1 million acres of land to help animals keep their natural habitat. Lastly, there is the Captive Wildlife Safety Act. This act prohibits the transport of big cats because many of them are endangered. These laws have helped tremendously and the ESA would not have such a success at all without