How does the ESA work?
The reply to this question explains the means and ends of the Act, rather than an appraisal of its success. A simplified overview of the ESA is presented in Sidebar 3. Three words capture the essence of required ESA processes: identify, protect, and recover. The ESA identifies species threatened or endangered with extinction and the critical habitat essential to their survival and recovery; it protects the identified species from “harm” and its habitat from significant adverse modification; and it mandates affirmative action by all federal agencies to recover the species to the point where the Act’s protection is no longer necessary. Some facts pertinent to the three required ESA processes follow, and are provided to set the stage for a better understanding of the remainder of this analysis. Identify.–On March 31, 1995 there were 961 species in the U.S. identified and officially listed through rule-making procedures as threatened (202 species) or endangered (759 species); 55% of the l
