The Endangered Species Act has enabled humanity to hold on to a little more wilderness than would otherwise been able to survive.

Taken from the U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife:

Endangered Species Act Success

As Americans celebrated the International Migratory Bird Day, May 11, 1996, they were heartened by the success of the Endangered Species Act: nearly 51 of the 91 U.S. birds classified as either endangered or threatened are either stable or increasing in number. The American bald eagle, peregrine falcon, and brown pelican are examples of birds that are well on their way to recovery, while the California condor and the whooping crane are encouraging examples of how species can be rescued from the brink of extinction.

As far back as 1870, habitat loss and shooting took a heavy toll on the whooping crane during the settlement of the West. Since then, the Service has conducted an ambitious recovery program. The success of the whooping crane program has served as a model to other countries seeking to protect other crane species.

The Endangered Species program received increased attention in FY 1996 as debate about reauthorization of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 made headlines across the Nation. The Act, recognized as the single most comprehensive environmental legislation ever enacted by Congress, requires the conservation of threatened and endangered species and the ecosystems upon which they depend. The Service is one of two agencies (the other is the National Marine Fisheries Service) charged with implementing the Act. The Service's responsibilities include working with partners to conserve species before they need the protection of the Act, determining the species that need protection (listing), and restoring listed species to a secured existence (recovery).

The success of the Endangered Species Act extends beyond the national boundaries of the United States. Rebounding from the effects of habitat loss and commercial exploitation, Australia's population of saltwater crocodiles is being reclassified by the Service from endangered to threatened, a less restrictive designation under the Act. Protective management strategies by the Australian Government are largely responsible for the crocodile's recovery. The Service is also issuing a special rule allowing the importation into this country of skins of these crocodiles as well as Nile crocodiles, also listed as threatened, if certain requirements are met.