2011 US Code
Title 16 - Conservation
Chapter 35 - ENDANGERED SPECIES (§§ 1531 - 1544)
Section 1531 - Congressional findings and declaration of purposes and policy

The Congress finds and declares that—

(1) various species of fish, wildlife, and plants in the United States have been rendered extinct as a consequence of economic growth and development untempered by adequate concern and conservation;

(2) other species of fish, wildlife, and plants have been so depleted in numbers that they are in danger of or threatened with extinction;

(3) these species of fish, wildlife, and plants are of esthetic, ecological, educational, historical, recreational, and scientific value to the Nation and its people;

(4) the United States has pledged itself as a sovereign state in the international community to conserve to the extent practicable the various species of fish or wildlife and plants facing extinction, pursuant to—

(A) migratory bird treaties with Canada and Mexico;

(B) the Migratory and Endangered Bird Treaty with Japan;

(C) the Convention on Nature Protection and Wildlife Preservation in the Western Hemisphere;

(D) the International Convention for the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries;

(E) the International Convention for the High Seas Fisheries of the North Pacific Ocean;

(F) the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora; and

(G) other international agreements; and

(5) encouraging the States and other interested parties, through Federal financial assistance and a system of incentives, to develop and maintain conservation programs which meet national and international standards is a key to meeting the Nation's international commitments and to better safeguarding, for the benefit of all citizens, the Nation's heritage in fish, wildlife, and plants.

The purposes of this chapter are to provide a means whereby the ecosystems upon which endangered species and threatened species depend may be conserved, to provide a program for the conservation of such endangered species and threatened species, and to take such steps as may be appropriate to achieve the purposes of the treaties and conventions set forth in subsection (a) of this section.

(1) It is further declared to be the policy of Congress that all Federal departments and agencies shall seek to conserve endangered species and threatened species and shall utilize their authorities in furtherance of the purposes of this chapter.

(2) It is further declared to be the policy of Congress that Federal agencies shall cooperate with State and local agencies to resolve water resource issues in concert with conservation of endangered species.

(Pub. L. 93–205, §2, Dec. 28, 1973, 87 Stat. 884; Pub. L. 96–159, §1, Dec. 28, 1979, 93 Stat. 1225; Pub. L. 97–304, §9(a), Oct. 13, 1982, 96 Stat. 1426; Pub. L. 100–478, title I, §1013(a), Oct. 7, 1988, 102 Stat. 2315.)

This chapter, referred to in subsecs. (b) and (c)(1), was in the original “this Act”, meaning Pub. L. 93–205, Dec. 28, 1973, 81 Stat. 884, as amended, known as the “Endangered Species Act of 1973”, which is classified generally to this chapter. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out below and Tables.

1988—Subsec. (a)(4)(G). Pub. L. 100–478 substituted “; and” for period at end.

1982—Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 97–304 designated existing provisions as par. (1) and added par. (2).

1979—Subsec. (a)(5). Pub. L. 96–159 substituted “wildlife, and plants” for “wildlife”.

Section 16 of Pub. L. 93–205 provided that: “This Act [enacting this chapter, amending sections 460k–1, 460l–9, 668dd, 715i, 715s, 1362, 1371, 1372, and 1402 of this title and section 136 of Title 7, Agriculture, repealing sections 668aa to 668cc–6 of this title, and enacting provisions set out as notes under this section] shall take effect on the date of its enactment [Dec. 28, 1973].”

Section 1 of Pub. L. 97–304 provided: “That this Act [amending this section and sections 1532, 1533, 1535, 1536, 1537a, 1538, 1539, 1540, and 1542 of this title and enacting provisions set out as notes under sections 1533, 1537a, and 1539 of this title] may be cited as the ‘Endangered Species Act Amendments of 1982’.”

Pub. L. 95–632, §1, Nov. 10, 1978, 92 Stat. 3751, provided: “That this Act [amending sections 1532 to 1536, 1538 to 1540, and 1542 of this title] may be cited as the ‘Endangered Species Act Amendments of 1978’.”

Section 1 of Pub. L. 93–205 provided: “That this Act [enacting this chapter, amending sections 460k–1, 460l–9, 668dd, 715i, 715s, 1362, 1371, 1372, and 1402 of this title and section 136 of Title 7, Agriculture, repealing sections 668aa to 668cc–6 of this title, and enacting provisions set out as notes under this section] may be cited as the ‘Endangered Species Act of 1973’.”

Pub. L. 102–251, title III, §305, Mar. 9, 1992, 106 Stat. 66, as amended by Pub. L. 104–208, div. A, title I, §101(a) [title II, §211(b)], Sept. 30, 1996, 110 Stat. 3009, 3009–41, provided that: “The special areas defined in section 3(24) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1802(24)) shall be considered places that are subject to the jurisdiction of the United States for the purposes of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).”

For provision that all Federal agencies minimize conflicts between recreational fisheries and administration of this chapter, see Ex. Ord. No. 12962, §4, June 7, 1995, 60 F.R. 30770, set out as a note under section 1801 of this title.