If listed, the agency issues recovery plans and regulations to conserve the species and prohibit take or violations of the regulations. The remaining four sections involve implementation of recovery plans. Otherwise prohibited acts are permitted for scientific purposes, to enhance species persistence, or if take is incidental to lawful activity. Issuance of such a permit requires a conservation plan that specifies likely impacts, steps and funding to mitigate such impacts, reasons alternative actions are not taken, evidence that the taking will not reduce species persistence and recovery, and responses to other requirements of the agency. The agency may also allow permits for a year or less if human subsistence or substantial economic losses are imminent.
All permits are subject to public hearings.
The ESA has been one of the Nation's most powerful conservation acts. However, although the language of ESA emphasizes protection of habitats and ecosystems, the Act has not been interpreted to ensure proactive land management. Consequently, by the time a species is listed, options for recovery are often limited, and the costs associated with restoration may be high. Thus, while ESA has been useful in curbing losses of listed species and their habitat, the Act by itself is not likely to prevent general habitat degradation and additional species listings. Doppelt et al.