Endangered Species Act Amendments of 1978

Endangered Species Act Amendments of 1978

Long title	An Act To amend the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to establish an Endangered Species Interagency Committee to review certain actions to determine whether exemptions from certain requirements of that Act should be granted for such actions.
Acronyms (colloquial)	ESA, God Squad
Enacted by	the 95th United States Congress
Citations
Public law	95–632
Statutes at Large	92 Stat. 3751
Codification
Titles amended	16 U.S.C.: Conservation
Legislative history
Introduced in the Senate as S. 2899 by John C. Culver (D–IA) on April 12, 1978 Committee consideration by United States Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works Passed the Senate on July 19, 1978 (94-3) Passed the House on October 14, 1978 (384-12, in lieu of H.R. 14104) Signed into law by President Jimmy Carter on November 10, 1978
Major amendments
Pub. L.Tooltip Public Law (United States) 96–159, 93 Stat. 1225, enacted December 28, 1979 Pub. L.Tooltip Public Law (United States) 97–304, 96 Stat. 1411, enacted October 13, 1982

The Endangered Species Act (ESA) was first passed in 1973 and forms the basis of biodiversity and endangered species protection in the United States. The original purpose of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 was to prevent species endangerment and extinction due to the human impact on natural ecosystems.^[1] The three most powerful sections of the ESA are Sections 4, 7 and 9. Section 4 allows the Secretaries of Interior and Commerce to list species as threatened or endangered based on best available data.^[2] Section 7 requires federal agencies to consult with Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) or National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) before taking any action that may threaten a listed species.^[2] Section 9 forbids the taking of an endangered species.^[2] The first amendment to the ESA was passed by the 95th United States Congress in 1978 to "introduce some flexibility into the Endangered Species Act".^[1]