Background provided by:

Visit Southern Rockies Wolf Web

The Endangered Species Act of 1966 and the Endangered Species Conversation of 1969 demonstrated concern for disappearing species on the worldwide scale.

The laws didn't not directly protect the species themselves. The 1973 Endangered Species Act was the most effective and far-reaching law ever passed to protect the plants and animals in the natural ecosystems.

This act made it ILLEGAL for anyone to injure, molest, kill, capture, or transport species indentified as endangered or threatened. Protection was also extended to another animals that had a backbone (vertebrates).

Such as: insects, mollousks, and crustaceans. The legislation provided habitat protection programs for the protection of endangered species in other countries through the control of the importing of skins, feathers, shells, and live specimens for commerical purposes.

This act had become a model for conservation efforts all over the world, that this act was reauthorized by Congress in 1987.

State Programs

Most states and territories of the United States attempt to protect endangered plants and wildlife in cooperation with federal goals. Some states require permits for collection of nongame species that are not endangered because of the rapid disappearance of nartural habitats and the steady decline of many native species.

The Heritage Trust Programs of some states are designed to identify and preserve potentially in danger from habitat destruction.

In the early 1980's, several states initiated a wildlife check-off system that allows taxpayers to contribute directly to the state's wildlife program. This place emphasis on nongame species.

Private Organizations

An additional measure of concern for vanishing species is the upsurge in private organizations involved in educating the public about environmental issues.

Many of these give major emphasis to species preservation through national and international magazines, lecture series, and television programs.