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ENDANGERED SPECIES 361 Box 15.1 Continued. II. Amendments of ESA have resulted from required and regular reautho- rization by Congress. 1978 Amendments (P.L. 95-632) improved consultation stipulated in Section 7 and provided a review process to resolve conflicts which persist after consultation. Applications for exemption from requirements of the Act may be approved by a review board and an endangered species committee. Decisions of the committee are subject to judicial review. Species and critical habitat were redefined, and listing of species and critical habitat were, to the maximum extent possible, required to be simultaneous. 1979 Amendments (P.L. 96-159) were of a relatively minor nature. 1982 Amendments (P.L. 97-304) included changes in Section 4 to ensure that listing decisions are based solely on biological criteria and to authorize listing without the requirement for concurrent critical habitat designation in some cases. Section 7 was changed to allow early initiation of the consul- tation process and extension of the normal consultation period. Section 10 was also modified to allow release of experimental populations outside the range of a listed species if this would further the conservation of the species. 1988 Amendments (P.L. 100-478) increased funding for ESA-related activities of the Departments of the Interior, Commerce, and Agriculture. They also required the Secretary of the Interior to report to Congress every 2 years on progress to develop and carry out recovery plans and on the status of species for which recovery plans have been developed. The FWS must also more closely monitor the status of listing candidates. A Cooper- ative Endangered Species Conservation Fund was established to facilitate cooperative state programs, protection of endangered and threatened plants was strengthened, and fines for willful violation of the Act were more than doubled. III. For further information, consult Shea (1977), Cadieux (1981), Ehrlich and Ehrlich (1981), Campbell (1982), USFWS (1982), Yaffee (1982), Ono et al. (1983), SCEPW (1983), USDI (1984), Rinne et at. (1986), and Kohm (1991). mental environmental organizations with interests in conserving endangered or threatened species can and do play important roles in enforcing the ESA. 15.2.3 State Endangered Species Programs States began enacting laws and enforcing protection of endangered species and natural habitats in the late 1960s. Some state laws protect only species on federal lists, and other states prepare their own lists. California was first to develop a state list of endangered and threatened species. Many states have potentially excellent programs to aid listed species, but their success has been linked to funding levels. The Endangered Species Act encouraged state participation in conservation of endangered species through cooperative agreements which allow federal matching funds for state projects involving listed species. This funding, however, has been minuscule compared to other federal aid for wildlife. In many states, endangered ......