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THE ACT'S HISTORY AND FRAMEWORK <br />by <br />KATHRYN A. KOHM <br />The purposes of this Act are to provide a means whereby the ecosys- <br />tems upon which endangered species and threatened species depend <br />may be conserved, to provide a program for the conservation of <br />such ...species, and to take such steps as may be appropriate... . <br />THE ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT Of 1973 fits lrit0 a long h1StOry <br />of increasing federal involvement in wildlife conservation. Until <br />1900, jurisdiction over wildlife remained largely with the states <br />where conservation efforts were focused almost exclusively on <br />traditional game species. Near the turn of the century, how- <br />ever, the balance of power over wildlife began to shift. By the <br />late 1800s, well-organized commercial interests had overrun the <br />efforts of individual states to enforce their wildlife laws by kill- <br />ing enormous quantities of wildlife in one state and quickly <br />transporting them to another. In response, Congress passed the <br />Lacey Act of 1900, making asignificant-if cautious-entry into <br />the field of wildlife regulation. Using the constitutional power <br />granted in the Commerce Clause, Congress initially passed the <br />Lacey Act to bolster enforcement of existing state wildlife regu- <br />lations.' In addition, the Lacey Act included several provisions <br />for affirmative species conservation on the federal level. Among <br />these was an authorization for the secretary of agriculture to <br />take necessary steps toward the "preservation, distribution, in- <br />10 <br />