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THE ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT: <br />LEGISLATIVE PERSPECTIVES ON <br />A LIVING LAW <br />by <br />CONGRESSMAN JOHN D. DINGELL <br />SEVENTEEN YEARS AGO, the Endangered Species Act of 1973 <br />(ESA) became law. Its goal was unparalleled in all history. <br />Our country resolved to put an end to the decades-indeed, <br />centuries-of neglect that had resulted in the extinction of the <br />passenger pigeon and the Carolina parakeet, as well as the near <br />extinction of the bison and many other species with which we <br />share this great land. If it were possible to avoid causing the ex- <br />tinction of another species, we resolved to do exactly that. It was <br />my distinct pleasure to serve then as chairman of the Subcom- <br />mittee on Fisheries and Wildlife Conservation and Environment <br />of the House Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries and <br />to introduce the bill, H.R. 37, which eventually became the <br />Endangered Species Act. <br />When Congress passed the Endangered Species Act, it set a <br />clear public policy that we would not be indifferent to the de- <br />struction of nature's bounty. Our duty to stem that destruction <br />derives from more than ethical considerations, though such con- <br />siderations would be a sufficient basis for action. Living plants <br />and animals have, through the centuries, developed a means <br />of coping with disease, drought, predation, and myriad other <br />threats. Understanding how they do so enables us to improve the <br />25 <br />