Federal environmental legislation in the U.S. for protection of wildlife and regulation of environmental contaminants

Abstract

The U.S. has a long history of legislation to protect wildlife, beginning with the Lacey Act of 1900. There are now over 170 Federal laws that regulate environmental activities which may affect wildlife. Two important laws are the Pittman-Robertson Act enacted in 1937 that authorizes a tax for wildlife management and the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act passed in 1958 whose primary purpose is conservation of fish and wildlife, both of which continue to provide significant funding for wildlife management. Modern environmental regulations began by passage of the National Environmental Policy Act in 1969, followed by the Clean Water Act, Superfund, and other laws to regulate pesticides and toxics and clean up contaminated sites. International conventions regulate sale, use and disposal of toxics and ocean dumping. These laws and conventions should protect wildlife from unintended consequences of global industrialization.