What does Endangered Species Act protection mean?
Once a species becomes listed as Endangered or Threatened, it receives special protections by the federal government. Animals are protected from “take” and being traded or sold. A listed plant is protected if on federal property or if federal actions are involved, such as the issuing of a federal permit on private land. The term “take” is used in the Endangered Species Act to include, “harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill trap, capture, or collect, or to attempt to engage in any such conduct.” The law also protects against interfering in vital breeding and behavioral activities or degrading critical habitat. The primary goal of the Endangered Species Act is to make species’ populations healthy and vital so they can be delisted from the Endangered Species Act. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service actively invest time and resources to bringing endangered or threatened species back from the brink of extinction. Since the Endangered Species
