ESA Basics

This lesson will introduce you to, or allow you to review, the major provisions of the Federal Endangered Species Act: section 4, 16 U.S.C. section 1533, which governs listings of endangered and threatened species; section 7, 16 U.S.C. section 1536, which imposes obligations on Federal agencies to protect endangered and threatened species; and section 9, 16 U.S.C. section 1538, which prohibits all persons from "taking" or trading in endangered and threatened species.

No prior familiarity with the ESA is necessary to complete this lesson. However, this lesson can also serve as a review of the ESA at the end of your course's unit on the ESA, or at the end of the term.

Learning Outcomes

On completion of the lesson, the student will be able to:

1. Discuss the fact that the protections under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) do not apply until a species is listed pursuant to section 4.
2. Explain the ESA listing process and the critical habitat designations.
3. Analyze the ESA section 9 general prohibitions respecting endangered and threatened species.