Your monthly support provides voters the knowledge they need to make confident decisions at the polls. Donate today.
Taking a species
This article does not receive scheduled updates. If you would like to help our coverage grow, consider donating to Ballotpedia. Contact our team to suggest an update.
 |
|
Taking a species involves any action "to harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect, or to attempt to engage in any such conduct" with a species listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Taking a species also includes the adverse modification of a listed species' habitat.[1]
Background
According to the Endangered Species Act (ESA), to take a listed species is "to harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect, or to attempt to engage in any such conduct" with a listed species. No private individual or governmental agency may take an individual animal species anywhere it is found. Any significant modification or degradation of an animal species' habitat that "actually kills or injures fish or wildlife by significantly impairing essential behavioral patterns, including breeding, spawning, rearing, migrating, feeding or sheltering" is prohibited. A endangered or threatened plant species may be taken unless it is found on government property.[2]
Any individual that knowingly takes a listed species can be fined up to $25,000 by the federal government for each violation or instance. Individuals can be fined up to $500 for each violation if they take a listed animal species unknowingly. The text of the law containing all federal penalties can be found here.[3][4][5]
Though the take prohibition applies to endangered species, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service extends the prohibition to threatened species if the agency issues specific regulations prohibiting the taking of a threatened species.[6]
Supreme Court ruling
In 1995, the U.S. Supreme Court sided with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in upholding the agency's interpretation of the term harm to a listed species that includes adverse habitat modification. Sweet Home Chapter of Communities for a Great Oregon, which included landowners, logging companies, and timber workers, sued the agency challenging its interpretation of the term harm (which is included in the legal definition of taking a species) to include habitat modification. The plaintiffs argued that the listing of the red-cockaded woodpecker and the northern spotted owl resulted in economic harm to the forest industry.[7]
In a 6-3 vote, the court ruled that habitat modification can be included in the application of the term harm. The court reversed a lower court ruling that found the definition of the word take to include actions involving only direct contact with listed species. The Supreme Court also held that the purpose of the Endangered Species Act is to provide broad federal protection to listed species, including actions such as habitat modification that may have limited or unpredictable effects.[8]
Exemptions
Some activities that result in the taking of a listed species are exempted if the individual or group holds a federal permit. Taking a member of an endangered animal species for scientific purposes or for enhancing the survival of the species is allowed with a federal permit issued by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Individuals who take an endangered animal species for otherwise lawful activities, such as construction or development on private property, must apply for a federal permit known as an incidental take permit. Before receiving the permit, individuals must submit a habitat conservation plan, which contains information about how the property owners will mitigate any potential impact of their activities on nearby endangered or threatened species. The Fish and Wildlife Service will approve a federal permit if the conservation plan does not reduce the likelihood of the species' survival and recovery in the wild.[2]
See also
Footnotes
- ↑ U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, "Endangered Species Act - Section 3," accessed October 7, 2015
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Stoel-Rives LLP, "A Primer on the Endangered Species Act: The Species List, Take Prohibition, Permits, & Federal Consultation Requirements," May 11, 2006
- ↑ U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, " Endangered Species Act (ESA) Requirements for Construction Activities," accessed September 26, 2014
- ↑ National Wildlife Service, "Endangered Species Act," accessed January 29, 2015
- ↑ Lieberman & Belcher, "What Constitutes Harassment of an Endangered Species," March 17, 2015
- ↑ Crowell Moring, "The Endangered Species Act: An Overview," March 2014
- ↑ Law School Case Briefs, "Babbitt v. Sweet Home Chapter of Communities for a Great Oregon 515 U.S. 687 (1995)," accessed August 31, 2016
- ↑ U.S. Justice Department, "Babbitt v. Sweet Home Chapter of Communities For a Better Oregon," accessed August 31, 2016
