Nancy F. Castaldo - Back from the Brink: Saving Animals from Extinction

It is said that when courage, genius, and generosity hold hands, all things are possible. This book is dedicated to all those who join hands in making the impossible a reality. You are all my heroes!

Copyright 2018 by Nancy F. Castaldo

All rights reserved. For information about permission to reproduce selections from this book, write to or to Permissions, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, 3 Park Avenue, 19th Floor, New York, New York 10016.

hmhco.com

Photo credits:

Cover: Enn Li Photography/Getty Images; : J Schmidt/NPS; All other photos are by Nancy F. Castaldo.

The Library of Congress has cataloged the print edition as follows:

Names: Castaldo, Nancy F. (Nancy Fusco), 1962, author.

Title: Back from the brink / by Nancy F. Castaldo.

Description: Boston : Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2018. | Includes bibliographical references. | Audience: Ages 10 to 12. | Audience: Grades 4 to 6.

Identifiers: LCCN 2017015664 | ISBN 9780544953437

Subjects: LCSH: Endangered speciesUnited StatesJuvenile literature. | Wildlife conservationUnited StatesJuvenile literature. | Wildlife recoveryUnited StatesJuvenile literature.

Classification: LCC QL84.2 .C37 2018 | DDC 333.95/220973dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017015664

eISBN 978-1-328-47667-8
v1.0418

When the last individual of a race of living things breathes no more, another heaven and another earth must pass before such a one can be again.

William Beebe, 1906

Nothing is more priceless and more worthy of preservation than the rich array of animal life with which our country has been blessed. It is a many-faceted treasure, of value to scholars, scientists, and nature lovers alike, and it forms a vital part of the heritage we all share as Americans.

Richard Nixon, upon signing the Endangered Species Act, 1973

We are not alone on this great spinning planet. Alongside us are countless creatures with whom we share the earths space and resources. Sometimes we collide, and when we do, its usually the animals that lose out.

Those collisions seem to be happening more frequently as the human population grows and our planet is taxed. We are seeing an unprecedented loss of creatures across the globe. Many scientists claim that we are undergoing the sixth great era of mass extinction of biodiversity in the course of our planets life. Although the other eras of mass extinction have occurred as a result of natural causes, this is the first one that plants humans squarely in the realm of responsibility. It isnt an ice age or an asteroid that is causing so many of these creatures to be doomed; its things such as hunting, habitat destruction, and climate change that are wreaking havoc on our wildlife. Once a mass extinction occurs, it takes millions of years for life on the planet to recover, and when it does, it looks wildly different. It is frightening and heartbreaking to witness this loss of biodiversity, but in its midst are stories of hope. All is not lost.

Everglades National Park in Florida is home to several threatened and endangered species including the Florida panther, American alligator, snail kite, and the wood stork.

Each of the species in this book has played a critical role in the environment and each reached the brink of extinction. American alligators were overhunted. Giant tortoises suffered from the introduction of invasive alien species. Eagles were devastated by the use of pesticides. And buffalo were slaughtered mercilessly in an attempt to civilize the American West. All of these animal populations plummeted, and yet, all of them survive today.

Their roads to recovery have been equally unique. From California condorswhich were controversially removed from the wild for a chance at a captive breeding programto humans teaching whooping cranes how to migrate, their stories of survival are equally diverse.

At the heart of each story are both the important legislation that affords protection for these creatures and the dedicated people who couldnt imagine a world without them. Such people as William Hornaday, Aldo Leopold, Rachel Carson, Farley Mowat, and President Richard Nixon recognized the vital role of wildlife in our world, along with countless volunteers, scientists, and conservationists who have followed their example and leadership.

THE ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT

More than forty years ago, on December 28, 1973, President Richard Nixon sat down in San Clemente, California, with pen in hand and signed the Endangered Species Act. This wasnt his first green action as president. He had already signed legislation for the National Environmental Policy Act and signed an executive order to create the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Nixon and Congress recognized that the United States was at a crossroads. There was an international list of threatened species known as the Red List, which was compiled by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). And Congress had passed the Endangered Species Preservation Act in 1966. But the United States did not have a federal list to protect species that were in trouble. More needed to be done. Bison bones were scattered across the prairie. The population of our national bird was plummeting, owing to rampant pesticide use. We were losing treasured wildlife; we had already lost some, including the passenger pigeon.

President Nixon, understanding that our place in the world, as well as our advantages, could lead to a great crisis, said, What we really confront here is that in the highly industrialized, richest countries, we have the greatest danger. Because of our wealth we can afford the automobiles, we can afford all the things that pollute the air, pollute the water, and make this really a poisonous world in which to live.

ECO-HERO: PRESIDENT NIXONS GREEN LEGACY

1969President Nixon called for a stop to Great Lakes dumping.

1970President Nixon created a cabinet-level Council on Environmental Quality.

197072The EPA was created and the Clean Water Act was passed.

1972The Marine Mammal Protection Act was passed.

THE ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT

The ESA states, The purposes of this Act are to provide a means whereby the ecosystems upon which endangered species and threatened species depend may be conserved, to provide a program for the conservation of such endangered species and threatened species, and to take such steps as may be appropriate to achieve the purposes of the treaties and conventions set forth in subsection (a) of this section. It is further declared to be the policy of Congress that all Federal departments and agencies shall seek to conserve endangered species and threatened species and shall utilize their authorities in furtherance of the purposes of this Act.

ESA VS. SARA VS. THE RED LIST

The United States Endangered Species Act (ESA) has a counterpart in Canada known as the Species at Risk Act (SARA). Unlike the ESA, evaluations of species listed in SARA are all conducted by a single Canadian scientific office, which can be beneficial. But the ESA has something SARA doesnt. Decisions on listing species under the ESA depend only on species population and cannot legally consider socioeconomic factors, which can be considered under SARAa plus for United States species. Both of these policy particulars are strengths that, if combined, would benefit all North American endangered species.