Dating back to even prehistoric times, species have been going extinct and are becoming more at risk as time progresses. In 2017, about 1200 animals and 750 plants are in danger in the United States alone. Plants and animals strive at benefiting the overall land that humans live on and they are vital for further progression of mankind. Furthermore, many organizations are involved in pursuing environmental safety and concern. Despite of the benefits that sprout from the well being of species, many groups think otherwise, and see the issue in a much dimmer perspective. More specifically, after imposing the Endangered Species Act in 1973, questionable remarks were made on behalf of the act’s effect on the economy. Although the act works to preserve and maintain certain species, the
This source worked very well at providing two sides of the Endangered Species Act that is important to understanding how and why the conflict started, as well as informative information of beneficial results of the act.
Caldwell, Maggie. “Political Animals: 7 Ways Congress Is Trying to Destroy the Endangered Species Act.” Earthjustice, 5 Apr. 2015, earthjustice.org/features/political-animals.
This source is necessary for having alternate perspectives of why the conflict happened. It provided factors that are significant to seeing what other aspects were behind the reason of why the conflict happened.
“Importance of the Endangered Species Act.” Endangered Species Coalition, www.endangered.org/importance-of-the-endangered-species-act/.
This was used for quantitative data and research development for the details behind the medical advancements that the Endangered Species Act is held accountable for contributing to.
“ .” The Endangered Species Act: A Wild Success,
The question regarding conservation is very much alive today. The United States needs wildlife conservation. And the Federal Department responsible for conservation, the Department of the Interior, are under attack with President Trump's new budget plan. So it’s important to keep pushing for better laws and policies to protect conservation.
Frankie Trull. “Animals in Research is Critical to Continued Progress in Human Health.” Ed. Jeanne Williams. The Society for Advancement of Education: 1989. Print.
In today’s society everyone seems to have an opinion on everything. It seems the more uninformed one is on a subject the more strongly the feel about it. Occasionally there are those who address issues they are well informed on in a well-organized and civilized manner, weighing both the pros and cons of the side they advocate. Brandon M. Middleton does an exceptional job of this in his article on the Endangered Species Act, where he talks about the effectiveness of the Federal government’s current involvement with endangered species.
"Animal Research Alternatives" The American Anti-Vivisection Society. N.p., 21 Jan. 2009. Web. 13 Jan. 2014.
Animal Welfare Information Center. United States. Animal Welfare Act as Amended (7 USC, 2131-2159). , 1966. Web. 1 Mar 2011. .
Estimates are that at the turn of the twentieth century over two million wild horses roamed free in the western United States. However, having no protection from their primary predator, man, by the 1970’s there numbers had dwindled to less than thirty thousand. In 1971, after a massive public uproar, Congress by a unanimous vote enacted the “Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act” (Act) that characterizes wild horses and burros as national treasures and provides for their protection.
Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), the crowned jewel of the nation’s 544 refuges is in danger of destruction (Lamar and Markey 12). ANWR has been in existence since 1960 and has slowly become one of the most controversial topics to hit Congress. ANWR is composed of 19 million acres on the northeast coast of Alaska. Although the government has been provided with this immense land they are fighting to gain more land. Why? ANWR is the second biggest oil field that is owned by the U.S. Now the government wants more land to construct oil reserves. The refuge is home to many endangered species such as migratory birds, polar bears, and wolves (Lynne and Roberts 1). Most of ANWR’s designated oil area is owned by indigenous Alaskan people (Klyza and Ford-Martin 1). Though these are some of the concerns when debating to stop any further drilling, the more prevalent matters to anti-drillers are; the caribou species, duration of changes (benefits), and why keep a bill that contradicts already existing federal acts.
The Endangered Species Act Introduction: Long-term survival of a species depends on its ability to adapt to changing environmental conditions (Murphy, 1994). Genetic diversity within a species, which has taken 3.5 billion years to evolve, makes adaptations to these changing environments possible. Unfortunately, the rate of extinction of genetically diverse organisms is rapidly increasing, thus reducing this needed biodiversity, largely due to the human impacts of development and expansion. What was an average of one extinction per year before is now one extinction per hour and extinct species numbers are expected to reach approximately one million by the year 2000 (WWW site, Bio 65). As a result governmental and societal action must be taken immediately!
Over a century ago, humans fought animals for dominance of the landscape and we regrettably won, now they’re in need of our protection. The Government and Organizations have come to the rescue of wildlife species all across the U.S. Their main goal is to protect wildlife species from over harvesting and also their loss of habitat due to industrial and residential development. The beauty and curiosity of wildlife captivates all of us for different reasons. For certain species, they are the link to our existence Animals are not being hunted into extinction because the government is protecting certain wildlife areas and are controlling the animal populations within those certain areas. While increasing a wildlife species population and removing from the endangered species list, a predator such as the gray wolf, is sure to be seen as a success to some and a threat to others.
From the perspective of economy, ecology, and environmental conservation, hunting is very important. Hunting is necessary to protect agriculture and the environment from animal pest or overpopulation. For example, wild boars tear up many farmers land causing many problems as well with the deer population growing eating away farmer’s resources. Also with the growth of white tail deer are damaging every landscape east of the Mississippi river. Unfortunately, the harm is very overlooked, and accepted as somehow “natural”. Over the last 30 years higher dear populations have made a more negative impact due to climate change. (“Is Hunting a Good Thing?”) Hunting was legalized in 1993 to help bring overabundant wild animal populations down. The legalization
Regan T. The Struggle for Animal Rights. International Society for Animal Rights. Inc. darks Summit, PA. 1987.
The first noticeable step towards conserving the natural resources and wildlife in the United States started with the Lacey Act. The Lacey Act was started by Senator John Lacey in 1900 to stop the drastic drop in the number of animals and decrease in natural resources in the United States. Lacey’s act made it illegal to kill animals for sport and sell them elsewhere to escape from the law also known as market hunters. Thankfully an end was put to them. The Lacey Act is the oldest wildlife protection law in the United States and the prominence does not stop there. Multiple amendments have been made to the Lacey Act over the years to help preserve plants and wildlife. Since then, numerous species have been saved and the conservation of our natural
Having considered both sides of the argument surrounding the Endangered Species Act, it seems logical to conclude that, despite the fact that they Endangered Species Act could stand some improvement in terms of the speed of the bureaucracy that governs it, the Act itself is quite sufficient as is as long as it is administered to the full extent of its power. There is a growing tendency in government, however, to undermine the strength of the Endangered Species Act by making decisions on when and where to apply it a political matter rather than an ecological matter (Munro, 2010). To do this is to insure that ultimately it will not just be the environment and the wile organisms that live in it that will lose, it will be mankind as well.
A. A. “The Case Against Animal Rights.” Animal Rights Opposing Viewpoints. Ed. Janelle Rohr. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1989.
In past years, the debate over human and mountain lion interaction has been quite heated. The California Legislature has addressed issues concerning the hunting of mountain lions for over 80 years. On March 26, 1996, the most recent ballot measure deciding the fate of the California cougar (Felis concolor), Proposition 197, was not passed. This would have repealed the 1990 passing of Proposition 117, which banned all trophy hunting of mountain lions, allowing only trained Department of Fish and Game officials to kill lions that became a threat to public safety and welfare. While compassion is felt for the victims of the relatively few mountain lion attacks, the denial of Proposition 197, which would have ended a 25 year ban on cougar hunting, was a victory for the California cougar as well as the welfare of California wildlife.