United States
£ GBP
The complex regulations of the Endangered Species Act established by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service can be challenging for environmental professionals who must comply with them or assist clients in compliance. This is true especially for those without a background in biology or ecology. The Endangered Species Act: History, Implementation, Successes, and Controversies discusses the Act using clear scientific prose that all professionals whose activities fit into the ESA compliance process can readily comprehend, including those with limited education in science.
The book begins by exploring the deeply rooted history of the Endangered Species Act, which extends back decades preceding its enactment in 1973. It continues with a discussion of the basic scientific theory underlying the Act and provides an overview of its key regulations. The author also examines the Act in the context of other key environmental planning statutes such as the National Environmental Policy Act and the Clean Water Act, especially Section 404 of the Clean Water Act, which relates specifically to wetlands. The remainder of the book details the regulatory processes faced by other government agencies and private developers who must routinely ensure that their actions comply with the Endangered Species Act. It concludes with a broad discussion of current controversies associated with the Act and how those controversies might ultimately change how environmental practitioners will have to comply with the Act in the future.
The book is neither a defense of the Endangered Species Act and its associated regulations nor a call to repeal or modify the Act or regulations. The presentation is factual and avoids the hype and hyperbole commonly directed at the Act by both environmental activists and deregulation proponents. Readers will gain a solid understanding of how the Act was established, what goals were envisioned by its framers, how current environmental practice under the Act has been shaped, and how those practices might be changed in the future.
Roots of Endangered Species Conservation Purpose and Objectives of Book Early Roots of Conservation History of American Conservation and Endangered Species Legislation The Endangered Species Act Agencies Administering the Endangered Species Act International Protection of Endangered Species Some Basic Concepts Ecology Autecology and Synecology Autecology Synecology Species and Taxonomy Subspecies Genetics and Natural Selection The Endangered Species Act: The Statute and the Regulations Overview of the Statute Some Basic Definitions Endangered Threatened Proposed Candidate Critical Habitat Delisting and Downlisting: What the Act Seeks to Achieve Extinct: What the Act Seeks to Avoid The Listing Process (Section 4 of the Act) Criteria for Listing Process for Listing Development of Recovery Criteria and a Recovery Plan Other Key Sections of the Act Section 7: The Government's Planning and Consultation Process Section 9: You Cannot Knowingly Kill or Harm Listed Species Section 10: But You Can Get a Permit to Do So Rare Species Designations Outside the Scope of the Endangered Species Act Related Environmental Statutes and Regulations The National Environmental Policy Act The Clean Water Act The Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act The Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act The Migratory Bird Treaty Act Others Executive Order 11988 (Floodplain Management) Executive Order 11990 (Protection of Wetlands) Executive Order 13112 National Historic Preservation Act Section 7: The Federal Consultation Process Who Must Comply Basic Information Sources Web Sites Other Data Sources Informal Consultation Targeted Surveys Biological Assessments Definition and Overview of the Biological Assessment Project Description in a Biological Assessment Description of Potentially Affected Species and Habitats Impact Assessment in a Biological Assessment Impact Assessment from Ecological Risk Assessment Perspective Cumulative Impacts in a Biological Assessment Biological Assessment Conclusions Take Permits and Mitigation Incidental Take Permits for Federal Agencies Biological Opinions Reasonable and Prudent Alternatives Incidental Take Statements Incidental Take Permits for Nonfederal Applicants The Permit Application Process Habitat Conservation Plans Mitigation Mitigation under the National Environmental Policy Act Wetland Mitigation Endangered Species Act Mitigation The Future of Mitigation The Endangered Species Act and the States Overview of State Endangered Species Regulation Examples of State Endangered Species Acts Maryland Florida Texas Future of the Endangered Species Act Basic Sources of Support for the Endangered Species Act Basic Sources of Opposition to the Endangered Species Act Private Property Rights Concern over Depressing Economic Activity Specific Recent Controversies Republican Contract with America Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County, Rapanos, and Other Limitations on Section 404 Scope Proposed Threatened and Endangered Species Recovery Act of 2005 Polar Bear Listing Bush Administration 2008 "Midnight Rule Changes" The Tea Party Movement and 2010 Pledge to America The Endangered Species Act and the 2012 Presidential Election The Future of the Endangered Species Act Index
Peyton Doub has more than 20 years' experience as an environmental consultant working with the Endangered Species Act and related environmental regulations and four years working on the environmental staff of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. He is a certified environmental professional (CEP), professional wetland scientist (PWS), and a qualified professional under the Maryland Forest Conservation Act. Mr. Doub has performed dozens of biological field surveys and has contributed biological expertise to numerous environmental impact statements and environmental assessments under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and remedial investigations and feasibility studies under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA; better known as Superfund). He has also contributed to the design of several restoration plans for restoring wetlands, forests, and other habitats of value to endangered species and other ecologically valuable resources. He has authored several papers and spoken at several professional conferences on wetlands, NEPA, and other environmental issues. He has an MS in plant physiology from the University of California at Davis and a BS in plant sciences from Cornell University.
