Endangered Species.

What they are, and how they

affect our community
Endangered species are a serious concern in this country. When animals and their habitats are
at risk of being destroyed, it is possible that a species can be eliminated completely and
become extinct. In the United States, animals that are found to be at risk are protected by the
government and many have been saved from extinction over the past century. There are still
people who want to kill animals or use up their habitats however, and the number of animals
that are endangered continues to grow.

Definition: The scientific definition for endangered species is, When a certain animal suffers
from these factors: damage to its habitat for recreational, or entertainment purposes; disease or
predation of the species; and hazards to the continued life of the species. (DoSomething.org).
In more basic terms, these are animals who are suffering and at risk for dying from different
kinds of losses. Endangered species have been a serious issue in the United States for the past
100 years. Scientists think that as many as 30 to 50 percent of all species are possibly heading
toward extinction worldwide by mid-century. (DoSomething.org). Society became more aware of
extinction and introduced the first US wildlife refuge in 1903. Then, in 1969, the Endangered
Species Act was introduced to offer protection for animals who were found to be endangered. It
was approved and became law in 1973. Under this Act, animals that are identified as
endangered or threatened are protected by the federal government from being harmed, killed,
traded or sold (National Wildlife Federation).

Impact on community: Since the enactment of the ESA, the number of animals on the
endangered species list has gone up because more work is being done to monitor the health
and safety of animal populations in the country. However, the act has been very successful in
protecting those animals, and many animals, such as the gray wolf and the American alligator
have come off of the endangered species list over time because they have been protected.
Here are some examples:
(online.infobaselearning.com) http://online.infobaselearning.com/Default.aspx

The graph above shows when some animals went extinct, and when others went on the
endangered species list. In 1976, 78 species received formal protection under the Endangered
Species Act, and today there are almost 1,600 (infobaselearning.com). In some areas of the
country however, people are reverting back to the shooting animals for food and personal use,
and becoming less concerned about the impact of their actions. It is estimated that 200 million
animals are killed each year in the United States because of hunting (Hunting-the Murderous
Business idausa.org), and many animals are extinct today because of these actions.
Additionally, there are people who want to use the environment for things like drilling for oil in
areas where these endangered animals live, putting their habitats at risk. Luckily, there have
been many more animals that have been protected successfully. Of the 1,400 plants and
animals placed under the care of the Act over the past four decades, 99 percent have been
saved from extinction. (Noah Greenwald, Center of Biological Diversity). One example is the
bald eagle. In the 1960s, there were only 500 total left in the US, mostly because of chemicals
sprayed in their environments that killed their young. Today, because they are protected by the
EPA, there are more than 7,000 breeding pairs in the US. (National Wildlife Federation)

Awareness and protection of endangered species has grown greatly in the United States over
the past century and there are many success stories of animals that have been saved from
extinction, which has an important impact on our country and our world. When animals become
extinct, there is a serious impact on the ecosystem and the environment. Numbers of
endangered animals are increasing rapidly because of human actions, and recently there has
been talk about the government changing or even removing the EPA, which would have a
serious impact on the safety of our plant and animal population in this country. (US News and
World Report) This is an important issues to keep a close eye on.
(The facts: unitedforwildlife.org) ttps://www.unitedforwildlife.org/?gclid=CMShxfr7_NECFdU6gQodCnIAcA#!/the-facts