3. Authorized the acquisition of water as well as land for endangered species. 



4. Increased the amounts available from the Land and Water Conservation 

 Fund to $2.5 million per area and $5 million per year. The $15 million 

 overall ceiling was retained. 



5. Provided significant authority for the conservation of endangered foreign 

 wildlife . Further details on this aspect of the program are available from 

 the Office of Endangered Species of the Bureau of Sport Fisheries and 

 Wildlife . 



Criteria for Determining an "endangered species" 



Confusion still exists among laymen and scientist alike as to what constitutes an endangered 

 species. As noted above, the list of animals published and periodically revised in the 

 Federal Register is the United States Government's "official" list of endangered species and 

 identifies those animals which are eligible for Federal benefits afforded an endangered 

 species . 



The Endangered Species Conservation Act of 1969 does not set forth specific criteria for 

 determining which species are "threatened with extinction." Instead, it directs the 

 Secretary of the Interior to seek the council of specialists and agencies with expertise on 

 the subject, and to rely upon their combined judgment. The wording of the Act is as 

 follows: 



"(C) A species of native fish and wildlife shall be regarded as threatened 

 with extinction whenever the Secretary of the Interior finds, after consultation 

 with the affected States, that its existence is endangered because its habitat is 

 threatened with destruction, drastic modification, or severe curtailment, or 

 because of overexploitation, disease, predation, or because of other factors, 

 and that its survival requires assistance. In addition to consulting with the 

 States, the Secretary shall, from time to time, seek the advice and recommendations 

 of interested persons and organizations, including, but not limited to, ornithologists, 

 ichthyologists, ecologists, herpetologists , and mammalogists . He shall publish 

 in the Federal Register the names of the species of native fish and wildlife found 

 to be threatened with extinction in accordance with this paragraph." 



Thus, actual numbers of an animal is only one criterion used to determine whether or not 

 it is "threatened with extinction . " Critically low or declining populations may be sufficient 

 reason for determining a species or subspecies to be endangered, but some which still 

 exist in large numbers — such as the brown pelican, the sperm whale, or the Arctic 

 peregrine falcon--may face serious threats such as environmental degradation, over- 

 exploitation, etc. , that could bring about their extirpation in the foreseeable future. When 

 their continued existence is in peril, they may legitimately be considered as endangered 

 species under the Act. 



The earlier versions of this publication mentioned a "Rare and Endangered Species 

 Committee" which compiled the United States List of Endangered Native Fish and Wildlife. 

 With the increasing concern for such animals, the Federal Government shifted its emphasis 



