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3. Authorized the acquisition of water as well as land for endangered species. 4. Increased the amounts available from the Land and Water Conservation Fund to $2.5 million per area and-$5 million per year. The $15 million overall ceiling was retained. 5. Provided significant authority for the conservation of endangered foreign wildlife . Further details on this aspect of the program are available from the Office of Endangered Species of the Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife . Criteria for Determining an "endangered species" Confusion still exists among laymen and scientist alike as to what constitutes an endangered species. As noted above, the list of animals published and periodically revised in the Federal Register is the United States Government's "official" list of endangered species and identifies those animals which are eligible for Federal benefits afforded an endangered species . The Endangered Species Conservation Act of 1969 does not set forth specific criteria for determining which species are "threatened with extinction." Instead, it directs the Secretary of the Interior to seek the council of specialists and agencies with expertise on the subject, and to rely upon their combined judgment. The wording of the Act is as follows: "(C) A species of native fish and wildlife shall be regarded as threatened with extinction whenever the Secretary of the Interior finds, after consultation with the affected States, that its existence is endangered because its habitat is threatened with destruction,' drastic modification,, or severe curtailment, or because of overexploitation, disease, predation, or because of other factors, and that its survival requires assistance . In addition to consulting with the States, the Secretary shall, from time to time, seek the advice and recommendations of interested persons and organizations, including, but not limited to, ornithologists, ichthyologists, ecologists, herpetologists, and mammalogists. He shall publish in the Federal Register the names of the species of native fish and wildlife found to be threatened with extinction in accordance with this paragraph." Thus, actual numbers of an animal is only one criterion used to determine whether or not it is "threatened with extinction." Critically low or declining populations may be sufficient reason for determining a species or subspecies to be endangered, but some which still exist in large numbers--such as the brown pelican, the sperm whale, or the Arctic peregrine falcon--may face serious threats such as environmental degradation, over- exploitation, etc . , that could bring about their extirpation in the foreseeable future . When their continued existence is in peril, they may legitimately be considered as endangered species under the Act. The earlier versions of this publication mentioned a "Rare and Endangered Species Committee" which compiled the United States List of Endangered Native Fish and Wildlife. With the increasing concern for such animals, the Federal Government shifted its emphasis v