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14 The Act's History and Framework and crustaceans. The inclusion of reptiles and amphibians was, in large part, a response to uncontrolled alligator poaching in the Southeast. Furthermore, the term "fish and wildlife" was explicitly defined to include vertebrate as well as invertebrate species. Acquisition authority was also expanded, though only marginally. Funding up to $1 million was provided annually over athree-year period for the purchase of private holdings within areas already managed by the Department of Interior; further, the amount that could be spent on a single purchase was increased from $750,000 to $2.5 million. The more profound changes, however, were made in relation to international wildlife conservation. For the first time, Con- gress officially recognized the international dimension of the extinction crisis. The 1969 act directed the interior secretary to promulgate a list of species "threatened with worldwide extinc- tion" and to prohibit importation of these species, except in certain cases. The exceptions were carved out as a result of the first significant political conflict encountered by proponents of the endangered species program. Realizing the commercial im- plications of a unilateral import ban, the U.S. fur industry launched a lobbying campaign against the ban. In the end, the secretary was given the power to grant permits for the importa- tion of endangered species or their products for zoological, edu- cational, or scientific purposes or for captive propagation programs. To prevent "undue economic hardship," the secre- tary could also allow parties that had entered into a contract for the importation of a species (or product) before it was listed to continue their trade for up to one year. Another important international element of the 1969 act was its directive to the interior secretary to foster a coordinated international effort for endangered species conservation. The act specifically called for an international conference in order to reach a binding convention on the conservation of endangered species. This meeting, designed as an answer to commercial objections to unilateral action, was to be convened by the sec- retary by June 30, 1971. Although the original deadline was missed by over a year, that meeting ultimately produced the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). This convention sets up a structure whereby trade restrictions are based on a species' vulnerability to extinctions