Piping Plover Charadrius melodus John James Audubon

The Endangered Species Act

Part 4: Exceptions to ESA prohibitions

A private landowner can receive an "Incidental Take Permit" to "take" threatened or endangered species by submitting a Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) that minimizes and mitigates the impacts of the proposed action on listed species. The HCP must be approved by the Secretary of the Interior prior to receipt of an Incidental Take Permit. The number of incidental take permits issued by the FWS and NMFS has grown exponentially in recent years. As of April 2000, 301 permits had been approved and more than 200 others were in development.

Proposed actions by federal agencies that have been determined to cause jeopardy to a listed species may receive an exemption from the ESA if five members of the federal "Endangered Species Committee" determine that the action is of regional or national significance, that the benefits of the action clearly outweigh the benefits of conserving the species, and that there are no reasonable and prudent alternatives to the action.

The Endangered Species Committee is comprised of seven members: the Secretary of Agriculture; the Secretary of the Army; the Secretary of the Interior; the Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors; the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency; and one individual from the affected state.