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12 The Act's History and Framework <br />composed of nine biologists, published the "Redbook"-the first <br />official endangered species- list. That list (based solely on infor- <br />mal expert opinion) cited sixty-three vertebrate species thought <br />to be in danger of extinction. The Redbook, along with increased <br />media attention to the plight of many species, reflected a grow- <br />ing tide of environmental awareness-and in turn endangered <br />species became a powerful symbol of the need for environmental <br />protection.3 Congress responded with three successive endan- <br />gered species statutes, each building upon and adding to the <br />conviction and specificity of the others. <br />THE 1966 ACT <br />Although limited in scope, specificity, and enforcement capac- <br />ity, the 1966 Endangered Species Preservation Act paved the <br />way for a comprehensive federal endangered species program. <br />Unlike earlier efforts to provide protection on a species-by- <br />species basis, the authors of the 1966 act sought to outline a <br />more inclusive program for species protection. In a cover letter <br />accompanying the draft legislation, Interior Secretary Stewart <br />Udall stated that "the principal objective of this proposed legis- <br />lation is to authorize and direct the Secretary of the Interior to <br />initiate and carry out a comprehensive program to conserve, <br />protect, restore, and where necessary to establish wild popula- <br />tions [and] propagate selected species of native fish and wildlife <br />...that are found to be threatened with extinction."4 <br />The actual provisions of the act, however, were not as far- <br />reaching as Udall had envisioned. For the most part, the act was <br />a vague policy directive that served primarily as a symbolic <br />statement of congressional support for endangered species pro- <br />tection.One of the act's more substantive features was its autho- <br />rization of acquisition authority and funds to purchase habitat <br />for endangered species. The interior secretary could use up to <br />$15 million ($5 million annually and no more than $750,000 for <br />any one area) from the Land and Water Conservation Fund for <br />such purposes. <br />The interior secretary was also directed to publish a list of <br />native species threatened with extinction in the Federal Register. <br />A species was to be listed if "its habitat is threatened with <br />