Endangered Species Act went into effect in 1973
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The Bald Eagle
The bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) is touted as the Endangered Species Act's crowning jewel. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the bald eagle nearly went extinct forty years ago.
"Habitat destruction and degradation, illegal shooting, and contaminated food sources decimated the eagle population," says U.S. Fish and Wildlife. In 1972, Eagles were given protection under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and a year later, when the Act was put into effect, bald eagles were added to the endangered list.
1982 saw the introduction of the Southwestern Bald Eagle Recovery Plan, which increased populations by tracking their breeding and migration patterns, sources of food, and assessing unnatural disturbances such as the pesticide DDT.
In 1995, bald eagles went from endangered to threatened and in 1999, U.S. Fish and Wildlife proposed delisting the species entirely thanks to increased population numbers. Finally, in the summer of 2007, the bald eagle was removed from the Threatened and Endangered Species list.
The Act designated protected habitats in order to help eagle populations grow—without it, the national bird once again faces endangerment.
Grizzly Bears
Although current grizzly bear (Ursus arctos horribilis) populations are stable, that wasn't always the case. The grizzly, a subspecies of the brown bear, can grow up to eight feet tall and can weigh a whopping 800-pounds.
The massive mammal made the threatened species list in 1975 largely due to development. According to National Geographic, grizzlies once roamed "western North America" but saw their numbers decline, in part, to "European settlement."
Today, grizzly populations are stable and listed as "least concern."
Tennessee Purple Coneflower
The perennial Tennessee purple coneflower (Echinacea tennesseensis) can easily be mistaken for a daisy. The flower thrives in hot, dry weather and is native to a small 14-mile span of land in Tennessee.
Rapid land development in Nashville led to a decrease in purple coneflower numbers which landed it on the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Plants in 1979—only the second plant to be granted endangered protections.
Governments at the state and federal levels created conservation plans to prevent the extinction of the purple coneflower, which was removed from the endangered list in 2011.
Peregrine Falcon
The peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus) is a bird of prey with few predators to worry about with the exception of raccoons and great-horned owls who are brave enough to snatch chicks and eggs from a falcon nest.
It's actually humans who pose the greatest threat to the species. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reports that "shooting, stealing eggs and young, poisoning, and habitat destruction" contribute to the downsize in falcon populations.
DDT decimated peregrine falcon populations after World War II. According to U.S. Fish and Wildlife, DDT not only killed adult falcons but made reproduction increasingly more difficult thanks to its eggshell thinning properties. Falcons who weren't killed by DDT were rendered infertile, adding to their decrease in numbers.
Humpback Whales
Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) populations are on the rise after facing an alarming decline in the 19th and 20th centuries due to whaling.
The magnificent sea mammals still face environmental problems that threaten their numbers such as polluted oceans. Humpbacks were one of the first animals to be protected under the Endangered Species Conservation Act—an early version of the ESA.
After former President Richard Nixon passed the ESA in 1973, humpbacks were listed as endangered "wherever found." A 1985 moratorium on whaling helped increase population numbers, which currently stand at approximately 80,000 though that number is fragile and the species remains endangered.
The Florida Manatee
The vulnerable Florida manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris) is seeing a decline in population numbers and falls under the status of "threatened." The aquatic mammal lives in the Atlantic, near Florida and Puerto Rico.
According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, in 1991, there were 1,267 manatees in the wild. Currently, that number is closer to 13,000 with half of them residing in the waters surrounding Florida and Puerto Rico and the rest being spread between Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Colombia, and off the coast of northern Brazil.
Sadly, the number one cause of manatee death is boat collisions. To reduce the chances of a crash, there are designated slow zones in the water that alert boat drivers they are in a manatee high-density area.
Whooping Cranes
The whooping crane (Grus americana) nearly went extinct thanks to "unregulated hunting and habitat destruction," per the Center for Biological Diversity. If the rollbacks to the Endangered Species Act take effect, the whooping crane will be one of hundreds of animals affected.
By the 1800s, crane numbers were around 1,400–a stark contrast with the mere 21 that were in existence by 1938. The crane was listed as endangered in 1967 with 48 birds living in the wild and six in captivity.
In 1978, protected lands throughout Idaho, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Texas were designated as whooping crane territory. In 2006, whooping crane populations stood at 513 and in 2011, that number increased to 599. Currently, wild whooping crane nests can only be found in Wisconsin, central Florida, and Canada's Wood Buffalo National Park
Black-footed Ferret
The black-footed ferret (Mustela nigripes) once thrived in the central grasslands ranging from south Canada through Texas. Today, it remains a highly endangered species thanks a widespread decrease in the population of their main food source, the prairie dog.
The Center for Biological Diversity estimates that there were nearly 5 million black-footed ferrets in the U.S. in the early 1900s. This number had gotten so low in 1967 that the ferret was labeled 'endangered' before (seemingly) going extinct.
That was until a small population of black-footed ferrets was discovered in 1981 in Wyoming. In an eight year span between 1991 and 1999, over a thousand ferrets from this newly found population were released throughout the Wyoming, Montana, and South Dakota wilderness. Currently, the black-footed ferret population is estimated to stand 1,400+ strong.
I stopped putting DDT on eagles when they said it was bad for them.
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The Jeffrey Epstein was on that list but has since gone extinct.
I'm sure most will disagree but Trumps handling ofnthe EPA and now his move to consider logging over endangered species are two of my least favorite moves of his. I think it's been proven over and over without oversight a d even with oversight we now how to screw up our planet. I am glad he passed the SOS bill to save the oceans which need tons of attention.
He backs big game hunting and I detest that trophy hunt garbage. Elephants, Rhinos, Lions, Tigers, and certain Bear species should be off-limits.
Trump is deregulating an agency that has abused its oversight. Here are 44 Obama EPA scandals that the media ignored.
https://lists.grabien.com/list-epa-scandals-under-obama-administration
https://lists.grabien.com/list-epa-scandals-under-obama-administration
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I agree; and those hunts in 'high fenced' areas are unethical and should be outlawed. During end-of-days I hope I get an opportunity to hunt some of those folks who pay to shoot animals entrapped in enclosures.
I like to Hunt deer and shoot guns, mostly because being alone in a deer stand, is a way to get back to nature and serenity. But I have ne er understood the need to shoot a elephant? A giraffe, who wants to kill a giraffe? I understand hunting grizy bears, but all the other stuff is non-sensical.
I get it, but what I dont know is who is watching big companies from polluting the rivers etc. Appointing the head of an oil company over a region of the EPA is like inviting a Monsanto board member to be your Dr
Exactly...We have a ranch here in West Tennessee that flies trophy hunters in to kill elk and rumored to be exotic game like jaguars and lions.I agree; and those hunts in 'high fenced' areas are unethical and should be outlawed. During end-of-days I hope I get an opportunity to hunt some of those folks who pay to shoot animals entrapped in enclosures.
I mostly man-hunt and still looking for my first kill.
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Folks who pay to go on those hunts have no morals or ethical values.............they're the same caliber people who helped run America into the dirt.
There is something hugely wrong with people who do that. Sick blood sport. I hate bastards who do that. I know one who's got heads of magnificent African animals hanging in his "trophy room." Damb Georgia Teck a-hole. I asked him if he went on safari in Africa and he said no, in Texas. It was at a party at his house, so I let it go, but all those animals were former zoo animals which were used to being around humans. The things probably walked up to his car looking for some food. The zoos get too many of a certain species and they ship them off to be shot by some bedwetter who thinks he is a hunter. Despicable bastards.
That said, I would blow that squirrel on the fence into the next county.
I knew a guy that had a giraffe head in his house, the entire neck..WTF
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That's what 99% of big game hunting is, the animal is just standing there, you blow him away. I've hunted my entire life up until a few years ago. I'm too soft hearted now, but I've got no problem with hunting if you eat what you kill. No problem with somebody shooting an elk, as long as they don't just take the backstraps and the antlers and leave the rest, which sux, imo.
Tigers and Rhinos are, as are polar bears, elephants and lions are not nearly as “endangered” as people believe.
Culling a population of animals isn't the point we're making.
Your picture isn’t of a high fenced hunting operation. Your picture is of a breeding farm whose animals are sold to improve genetics of other deer populations.I agree; and those hunts in 'high fenced' areas are unethical and should be outlawed. During end-of-days I hope I get an opportunity to hunt some of those folks who pay to shoot animals entrapped in enclosures.
I guess you have never seen hundreds of protein starved in Africa fed by an elephant or the devestation elephants cause to a subsistence farmer in Zim.
Yes, that is there, no doubt, but we were sort of talking about zoo animals on American game ranches, I think.
Where does high fence not become high fence. There are places in Texas that are 60,000 acre high fence. If you don’t think that is hunting, not sure what to tell you. If someone is shooting an animal in a pen that is in no way shape or form hunting.
I bounced around Africa for ten years. I do not like the idea of hunting old African zoo animals on ranches in America. No, I do not think that is hunting.
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