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U.S. #3191g
2000 32¢ Recovering Species
Celebrate the Century â 1990s
Issue Date: May 2, 2000
City: Monterey, CA
Quantity:Â 8,250,000
Printed By: Ashton-Potter (USA) Ltd
Printing Method: Lithographed
Perforations: 11 ½
Color: Multicolored
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In 1998, Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt announced that a number of animals on the federal endangered species list were on their way to recovery. Efforts to save the gray wolf, bald eagle, American peregrine falcon, and the black-footed ferret have been so successful that these species will be removed from the list or downgraded from endangered to threatened.
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The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has the largest responsibility for overseeing the plants and animals on the endangered species list. The species on the list are identified either as endangered (in danger of extinction) or threatened (likely to become endangered in the future). After a species is placed on the list, recovery plans are established. Plans can include habitat protection and breeding programs. For example, one reason the bald eagle is on its way to recovery is that young birds born in captivity were reintroduced into the wild. Captive breeding of red wolves and California condors has increased their numbers also.
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As of August of 1998, 675 plants and 468 animals in the U.S. were listed as either threatened or endangered. The Fish and Wildlife Service and other agencies are working to save animals like the grizzly bear, Utah prairie dog, bighorn sheep, blue whale, and brown pelican.
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Endangered Species ActÂ
On December 28, 1973, President Richard Nixon signed the Endangered Species Act into law in an effort to protect threatened species from extinction.
Throughout the late 1800s and early 1900s, people around the globe grew increasingly concerned about the plight of animals nearing extinction. As the bison neared extinction and the passenger pigeon disappeared, people began calling for wildlife conservation. Proponents of the conservation movement introduced the larger American public to the idea of extinction.
These animals were dropping in numbers due to many factors. Many were hunted for food, study, and personal or museum collections, while a large number of birds were killed for their feathers to adorn hats. Additionally, towns, cities, and farms expanded, encroaching on habitats, while pesticides and non-native species added to the burden.
The first major step taken in the US was the Lacey Act of 1900, which was the first federal law to regulate commercial animal markets. It made it illegal to sell animals between states that violated state game laws. In the coming years, more laws were passed to protect animals, including the Migratory Bird Conservation Act of 1929 and the Bald Eagle Protection Act of 1940.
Another major victory came with the Endangered Species Preservation Act of 1966. This act established a list of native US animal species that were endangered and provided limited protections for them. This act also allowed the Fish and Wildlife Service and federal land agencies to set aside habitats for the affected species. The first list appeared in 1967 and included 14 mammals, 36 birds, 6 reptiles and amphibians, and 22 fish.
The Endangered Species Conservation Act later amended this law in 1969. This act allowed for additional protection of animals at risk of âworldwide extinction.â It prohibited them from being imported or sold in the US, and expanded the Lacey Actâs ban on interstate sales to include more species. The 1969 amendment also requested an international meeting for all nations to join in and adopt a worldwide treaty to protect endangered species. The conference was held in February 1973 and resulted in the Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
Also in 1973, President Richard Nixon announced that he believed the current conservation laws werenât strong enough and encouraged Congress to pass more wide-reaching and effective legislation. Congress enlisted the help of lawyers and scientists to pen a brand new Endangered Species Act (ESA). Nixon approved it and signed it into law on December 28, 1973. The ESA helped to completely shift the way environmental protection was handled in the US. Notably, the actâs goal was to protect the species as well as their ecosystems.
Today the ESA protects over 2,300 species. In the years since its passage, over 70 species have been de-listed because their numbers have recovered due to conservation efforts.
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