Todays pics courtesy of Noelle

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• Todays pics courtesy of Noelle

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• Homework 3 Work together. Start now.
• Pick up exams and memos.
• How to figure out your overall grade.
• This weeks discussion section reading The End
  of Hunting.
• Todays class Endangered Species Act
• What has worked or not under this Act
• How to improve?
• Syllabus re-arrangement Next Federal land use
  laws

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• SEC. 3. For the purposes of this Act-
• (6) The term endangered species means any
  species which is in danger of extinction
  throughout all or a significant portion of its
  range other than a species of the Class Insecta
  determined by the Secretary to constitute a pest
  whose protection under the provisions of this Act
  would present an overwhelming and overriding risk
  to man.
• (14) The term Secretary means, except as
  otherwise herein provided, the Secretary of the
  Interior or the Secretary of Commerce Explain
• (15) The term species includes any subspecies
  of fish or wildlife or plants, and any distinct
  population segment of any species of vertebrate
  fish or wildlife which interbreeds when mature.

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• (18) The term take means to harass, harm,
  pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture,
  or collect, or to attempt to engage in any such
  conduct.
• Note Take will have two meanings in
  endangered species policy.
• Aside This looks a lot like rule-making
  language. (But its in the law.)

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Endangered Species Act What it does

• Listing
• Two categories Threatened endangered.
• Science is supposed to be the sole criterion for
  determining listing.
• Agencies
• Fish Wildlife Service Terrestrial species
• National Marine Fisheries Service (Commerce)
  Marine species

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Endangered Species Act, cont.

• Designation of critical habitat.
• - May consider economic effects.
• Listing triggers duties for Federal agencies.
• Federal actions must protect endangered
  species. Must protect critical habitat.
• NEPA!

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Understanding the ESA The snail darter story

• What is a snail darter?

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SAGA of the Snail Darter

• 1975 FWS lists the Snail Darter.
• Suit to stop construction of the Tellico Dam.
• Tellico Dam had a terrible benefit-cost ratio
  but
• Why didnt the EIS find the Snail Darter?
• 1978 Supreme Court upholds suit.
• "One would be hard pressed to find a statutory
  provision whose terms were any plainer than those
  in section 7 of the Endangered Species Act."

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• Snail Darter, cont.
• 1978 Congress amends ESA almost immediately.
  Creates God Squad.
• God squad A high-ranking committee that can
  grant exemptions to the Endangered Species Act.
• Secretaries of Agriculture, Interior, Army
  EPA Administrator head of Presidents Council of
  Economic Advisors

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Saga, cont.

• God Squad does not exempt the snail darter!
  (Why?) (Clarification.)
• 1979 Legislation to allow completion of the
  dam. (How can they do this? Make sure you
  know.)
• 1980 FWS discovers healthy populations of snail
  darters in other TN rivers.
• 1982 ESA unanimously reauthorized!

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• Some issues so far
• The God Squad has not had a far-reaching effect.
  
• God Squad has heard only 3 exemptions and
  only 1 has gone through.
• Tellico Dam
• Grey Rocks Dam (whooping crane)
• Timber sales (spotted owl.)

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• The restrictions on Federal actions can be
  far-reaching and appear in unexpected cases.
• The San Diego mint.

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• Environmental groups became reluctant to push for
  listing.
• 1995 Congress passes moratorium on listing.

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Endangered Species Act, cont.

• Responsibilities for private citizens
• Private citizens are prohibited from taking.
• (18) The term take means to harass, harm,
  pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture,
  or collect, or to attempt to engage in any such
  conduct.
• (Applies to fish and wildlife but not plants.)

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• 1981 FWS says that habitat modification is
  potentially a taking.
• 1995 Supreme Court, in the Sweet Home decision,
  agrees.
• This means that certain kinds of habitat are
  protected on private land.

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• The shoot, shovel, and shut-up problem
• SSS Pre-emptive habitat destruction to avoid
  ESA restrictions.
• Red cockaded woodpecker story.

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• To think about
• What kind of policy could prevent this?
• Would policies aimed at habitat (rather than
  species) protection prevent this?
• The bright-line problem
• Many policies set a threshold for action. (Can
  you give examples?)
• This often has perverse effects. (What are these
  for the ESA?)

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• Congress (1982) authorized issuing of Incidental
  Take Permits.
• Private landowners
• Can take actions that result incidentally in
  taking of a species.
• What kind of example was Congress thinking of?
• Landowners must file a Habitat Conservation Plan.
  
• 1990s
• No surprises policy added to Incidental Take
  policy.
• Safe Harbor policy

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Exams

• Here is a rough curve.
• Grade cut-offs are approximate.
• Answer key here.