The U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA) is a 1973 law that was passed to prevent the extinction of native and foreign animals and plants by providing measures to help alleviate the loss of species and their habitats. Under this law, the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Commerce were given the joint responsibility for determining whether to place animals and plants on the Federal list of endangered and threatened species and for taking measures to protect and conserve the listed species. The Secretary of the Interior has delegated the Department’s responsibility to the Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS). Foreign species may also be listed under the ESA, and the ESA is the law that implements U.S. participation in CITES. However, not all foreign species that are listed under the ESA are also listed in CITES.

Division of Scientific Authority biologists 1) draft proposed and final rules for the listing, reclassification, or delisting of foreign species under the ESA, and 2) review export/import permit applications involving ESA-listed species to determine if the issuance of such permit would jeopardize the survival of the species.

For more information, see:

• U.S. Endangered Species Act: Permits for Non-native Species or Import and Export of Non-native and Native Species
• Determination of Endangered Species and Threatened Species
• ESA species database