Thirty years ago, Congress passed a bill into law that would set a standard for environmental conservation.

Never before had any nation recognized the plight of its fish and wildlife resources and acknowledged the aesthetic, ecological, educational, historical, recreational and scientific value of plants and animals that were being depleted in numbers because of untempered growth and development. The Endangered Species Act of 1973 is considered to be a milestone in conservation legislation. Its purpose is not only to protect plants and animals facing extinction, but also to provide a means for protecting and conserving the ecosystems upon which those species depend and provide programs for their conservation. No single law has encompassed a broader scope for the conservation of fish and wildlife, nor has any law generated more discussion and controversy.

The Endangered Species Act has undergone many changes throughout its 30-year history and has been tested repeatedly, but it still stands as one of the most important pieces of legislation for the protection and conservation of imperiled fish, wildlife and plant species in this country.

After World War II, the United States experienced tremendous growth. Industries were thriving and the human population was expanding. By the early 1970s, the American public began to recognize the cost at which the previous 20 years of economic and industrial growth had been accomplished. Forests had been cleared at an unprecedented rate, the air and water had been polluted by industrial and municipal discharges; many species of plants and animals had disappeared forever and others were faced with extinction.

In Tennessee, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) was completing its system of dams to tame the Tennessee River, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was completing dams on the Mississippi and Cumberland Rivers. The dams protected the growing population from floods and provided an inexpensive source of electricity, paving the way for industry to grow along these water highways.

One of the first tests faced by the Endangered Species Act after its passage in 1973 occurred in Tennessee. In 1976, the TVA was constructing Tellico Dam on the Little Tennessee River. An ichthyologist (fish biologist) surveying the river discovered a species of fish never seen before. It was determined that this fish, the Snail Darter, lived nowhere else than the stretch of the Little Tennessee River above and below the site where the dam was being built. Based on this information, the Snail Darter was listed as an endangered species and the Little Tennessee River section in the vicinity of the dam was designated as habitat critical to the survival of the species. Construction of Tellico Dam was halted and debate began about whether the benefits provided by the dam outweighed the need to protect the Snail Darter. A Congressional exemption from the Endangered Species Act, passed in 1979, allowed for completion of Tellico Dam, but fortunately that decision did not spell extinction for the Snail Darter. Several additional populations were discovered, and listing of the species resulted in efforts to protect those remaining populations and recover the species.

Tennessee is blessed with an abundance of natural resources. The state’s diversity of habitats, ranging from the coastal plain lowlands of West Tennessee to the near-alpine coniferous forest in the east, harbor numerous species of fish, mussels, crayfish, mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and plants. Many of the species are endemic to Tennessee, that is, they are found nowhere else in the world. Among the endangered and threatened species found only in Tennessee are such species as the Tennessee Purple Coneflower, Ruth’s Golden Aster, Spring Creek Bladderpod (a plant), Nashville Crayfish, Bluemask Darter, Smoky Madtom (a fish), and the Cumberland Pigtoe Mussel. There are currently 101 species in Tennessee that are listed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as endangered or threatened. Thirteen other species inhabiting the lands and waters of Tennessee are candidates for listing. Only Hawaii, California, Alabama and Florida have more threatened and endangered species.

Over the years, the Endangered Species Act has generated much debate and misunderstanding. Some view its requirements as a thorn in their side, another hurdle to overcome; others believe that its purpose is to stop economic growth and development to save species that have no value. One of the true purposes of the act is to require federal agencies to consider species listed as endangered or threatened in designing and constructing their projects and to include measures for their protection. When implemented properly, project objectives are met and the species are protected.

Since passage of the Endangered Species Act in 1973, tens of thousands of federal projects and activities have been reviewed by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologists in Tennessee under Endangered Species Act provisions. Most have proceeded as originally proposed, a small percentage have required further consultation that resulted in modification of the project before proceeding, and only one has actually been stopped because of its potential environmental effects and effects to endangered species.

Another purpose of the Endangered Species Act is to protect individual endangered and threatened plants and animals from "take." "Take" is defined as to harm, harass, injure or kill a species or destroy essential habitat) without finding ways to minimize the threats and provide for the long-term survival and recovery of the species.

"Take" of listed species is prohibited and carries severe penalties, but the Endangered Species Act provides for "take" that is incidental to otherwise lawful activities. Federal agencies are protected from violation of the act’s "take" provisions through consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, but until recently, non-federal agencies and private landowners would face possible prosecution for "take" of listed species. The 1988 amendments to the Endangered Species Act authorized the issuance of permits to private landowners and non-Federal agencies conducting lawful activities to "take" species, but require measures to "minimize and mitigate the take to the maximum extent practicable." Applicants for incidental "take" permits must prepare a habitat conservation plan that describes the proposed action and its effects on listed species and identifies measures to mitigate "take" that may occur as a result of the action. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologists in Tennessee have worked with many private individuals and organizations to protect wildlife while allowing them to use their land.

"Tennessee has the fourth highest number of federally endangered species in the United States, with a number of these species being state endemics. While Tennessee shares the responsibility for the recovery and protection of many of these listed species with other states, we are solely responsible for the recovery and protection of those that are state endemics," says Reggie Reeves, director of the Division of Natural Heritage of the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation.

"In Tennessee, the Endangered Species Act has proven to be a principal catalyst for the conservation of these globally rare species of plants and animals," Reeves adds.

"Both the science behind the formal listing process, and the significance placed on the recovery of listed species, play a critical role in selecting areas in Tennessee for protection under the State Natural Areas Program," Reeves says. Tennessee currently has 64 State Natural Areas covering over 100,000 acres of ecologically significant lands. Many of these natural areas were selected based on the presence of federally listed species and high quality habitats. Long-term conservation of such lands contributes directly to the recovery goals of individual species. In some cases, acquisition of these important natural areas was made possible only through funding assistance under the Endangered Species Act. And more often than not, identification of potential natural areas is a direct result of rare species inventory funding under the Endangered Species Act."

"The Endangered Species Act has given the state of Tennessee the ability to produce on-the-ground results contributing to the recovery of our endangered and threatened plant species. The recent downlisting of the Large-flowered Skullcap (Scutellaria montana) from endangered to threatened is a prime example of the act’s success," says David Lincicome, administrator of the Rare Species Protection Program of TDEC’s Division of Natural Heritage.

"Without such strong, protective legislation and financial assistance, the recovery of Tennessee’s rare plant species would be less successful. Although the level of protection granted to rare plant species under the act is not perfect, the administrators of its programs continue to develop new and creative approaches advancing protection to more rare plant populations. Consequently, the future for Tennessee’s botanical treasures looks bright despite much recovery work that remains," Lincicome says.

We have learned much through our experiences in implementing the provisions of the Endangered Species Act. We have learned that economic growth and endangered species protection are not mutually exclusive, and that building partnerships with agencies and individuals is the key to recovery. By working together with development and industrial interests and with individual landowners, we can accomplish tremendous things toward protection of endangered plants and animals, and we can avoid the "train wreck" situations faced in the early years.

We have been successful with some species in Tennessee, reversing the trend toward extinction. But, there is a long way to go. Many species remain near extinction in Tennessee. However, if we can continue to work with others to find innovative ways to conserve endangered and threatened species through our authority under the Endangered Species Act, these species have a chance to recover and once again thrive on the lands and in the waters of Tennessee.

(James Widlak is the endangered species consultation coordinator with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Tennessee-Kentucky Field Office in Cookeville. This article was originally assigned in 2001 to the late Tyler Alley Sykes, biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Cookeville, who died at age 31 in May 2002. James Widlak has written this article in memory of Tyler Sykes.)