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Endangered Species ActThe Endangered Species Act of 1973 was one of dozens of environmental laws passed in the 1970s in the United States. It is designed to protect biodiversity from "the consequences of economic growth and development untempered by adequate concern and conservation." The Fish and Wildlife Service is responsible for implementing the Act. When a plant or animal species is identified as "threatened" or "endangered" it is put onto a list. (Endangered species are closer to extinction than threatened species.) It is illegal to kill, buy, sell or trade listed species. The penalties for violating the Endangered Species Act can be as serious as a $50,000 fine and up to a year in jail. Further, the FWS develops a plan to help the listed species recover. Some species, such as the American Bald Eagle have successfully made it off the list. Others have become extinct. The Act provides a citizen enforcement clause. This allows anyone to sue the FWS to list a species with dwindling numbers or to force enforcement of the law or an existing plan. This law has created controversy when the Congress attempted to limit the number of species which can be limited. Also, some people argue that when a plan restricts the use of private property it is equivalent to a "taking" or an illegal use of the government's eminent domain powers and a violation of constitutional rights to due process. There is also evidence that the Act's habitat-protection provisions can incentivize landowners to harm wildlife in order to protect the economic value of their property. An example is the red-cockaded Woodpecker, which prefers to live in trees that are at least 70 years oldhttp://www.perc.org/publications/percreports/dec2003/tangents.php?s=2. A study published in the Journal of Law & Economics entitled Pre-emptive Habitat Destruction Under the Endangered Species Act found that landowners were harvesting old-growth trees in order to prevent the woodpeckers from nesting on their property: - Under the ESA it is not only illegal to kill an endangered species, but it is also illegal to damage their habitat. By preventing the establishment of an old-growth pine stand, landowners can ensure that red-cockaded woodpeckers do not inhabit their land and avoid ESA regulations that limit or prohibit timber harvest activity.
According to Pittsburgh Tribune-Review columnist Ralph R. Reiland, the 3-S treatment - Shoot, shovel, and shut up - is another favorite method for eliminating endangered species from one's landhttp://www.lewrockwell.com/orig4/reiland3.html. Reference - Benjamin, Daniel: Preemptive Cuts, PERC Reports, Volume 21, Number 4, Dec. 2003.
- Lueck, Dean, and Jeffrey A. Michael: Preemptive Habitat Destruction under the Endangered Species Act, Journal of Law & Economics 46(1): 27-60, 2003.
- Reiland, Ralph R.: Shoot, Shovel, and Shut Up, Apr. 6, 2004.
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