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Endangered Species Act | A History of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 | 1978 ESA Amendment
Congress enacted the following amendments to the Endangered Species Act in 1978:
- Provisions were added to Section 7, allowing Federal agencies to undertake an action that would jeopardize listed species if the action is exempted by a Cabinet-level committee convened for this purpose;
- Critical habitat was required to be designated concurrently with listing a species, when prudent, and economic and other impacts of designation were required to be considered in deciding on boundaries [section 4];
- The Secretary of Agriculture (for the Forest Service) was directed to join the Secretaries of Interior, Commerce, and Defense in developing a program for conserving fish, wildlife and plants, including listed species; land acquisition authority was extended to all such species [section 5];
- The definition of “species” with respect to “populations” was restricted to vertebrates; otherwise, any species, subspecies, or variety of plant, or species or subspecies of animal remained eligible for protection under the Act [section 3].
Last updated:
July 15, 2013
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